Modem control using millimeter wave energy measurement

ABSTRACT

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support modem control using millimeter wave (mmW) energy measurement. Generally, the described techniques provide for wireless device (e.g., wireless repeater) power savings in the absence of an attached (e.g., connected) user equipment (UE). For example, a wireless repeater may perform relay operations (e.g., amplification and forwarding operations) for communications between a base station and a UE in some channel (e.g., in a mmW channel). The wireless repeater may use energy measurements in the channel (e.g., analog mmW measurements) to control or configure a digital interface for monitoring out of band control information (e.g., in a sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) channel). For example, a wireless repeater may use energy measurements of signals transmitted by devices in a mmW band to configure (e.g., turn on) a digital interface of another modem to monitor for control information in a sub-6 GHz band.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application for patent is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/943,980 by LI et al., entitled “MODEM CONTROLUSING MILLIMETER WAVE ENERGY MEASUREMENT” filed Jul. 30, 2020, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/881,892by LI et al., entitled “MODEM CONTROL USING MILLIMETER WAVE ENERGYMEASUREMENT,” filed Aug. 1, 2019, assigned to the assignee hereof, andexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

INTRODUCTION

The following relates to wireless communications, and more specificallyto wireless device modem control.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of suchmultiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such asLong Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, orLTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may bereferred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employtechnologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discreteFourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system mayinclude a number of base stations or network access nodes, eachsimultaneously supporting communication for multiple communicationdevices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).

SUMMARY

A method of wireless communication at a wireless device is described.The method may include measuring an energy level in a first channelduring one or more configured slots. The method may also includedetermining that the measured energy level satisfies a threshold. Themethod may include powering on a digital interface based on thedetermining that the measured energy level satisfies the threshold.Additionally, the method may include monitoring a second channel, usingthe digital interface, for control information.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless device isdescribed. The apparatus may include a processor and memory coupled withthe processor. The processor and memory may be configured to measure anenergy level in a first channel during one or more configured slots. Theprocessor and memory may also be configured to determine that themeasured energy level satisfies a threshold. The processor and memorymay also be configured to power on a digital interface based on thedetermining that the measured energy level satisfies the threshold.Additionally, the processor and memory may be configured to monitor asecond channel, using the digital interface, for control information.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless device isdescribed. The apparatus may include means for measuring an energy levelin a first channel during one or more configured slots. The apparatusmay also include means for determining that the measured energy levelsatisfies a threshold. The apparatus may also include means for poweringon a digital interface based on the determining that the measured energylevel satisfies the threshold. Additionally, the apparatus may includemeans for monitoring a second channel, using the digital interface, forcontrol information.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunication at a wireless device is described. The code may includeinstructions executable by a processor to measure an energy level in afirst channel during one or more configured slots. The code may alsoinclude instructions executable by a processor to determine the that themeasured energy level satisfies a threshold. The code may also includeinstructions executable by a processor to power on a digital interfacebased on the determining that the measured energy level satisfies thethreshold. Additionally, the code may include instructions executable bya processor to monitor a second channel, using the digital interface,for control information.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, measuring the energy level inthe first channel during the one or more configured slots may includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for measuring the energylevel in a millimeter wave channel, using an analog interface, duringone or more random access channel slots. In some examples of the method,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein, monitoring the second channel, using the digital interface, forcontrol information may include operations, features, means, orinstructions for monitoring a sub-6 gigahertz channel, using the digitalinterface, for control information from a base station.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, from a basestation, signaling that indicates the threshold. Some examples of themethod, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed herein may further include operations, features, means, orinstructions for receiving, from a base station, configurationinformation indicative of the one or more configured slots, one or morebeamforming parameters, an uplink or downlink direction to be used forthe measuring of the energy level, the threshold, or some combinationthereof. In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the configuration informationindicative of the threshold includes an absolute value of the energylevel or a relative value of the energy level compared to energydetected in resources other than the one or more configured slots.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for setting a digitalinterface timer based on the determining that the measured energy levelsatisfies the threshold. Some examples of the method, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may furtherinclude operations, features, means, or instructions for powering offthe digital interface based on expiration of the digital interfacetimer.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, from a basestation, control information prior to expiration of the digitalinterface timer based on the monitoring of the second channel, where thecontrol information includes one or more commands for the digitalinterface, and configuring the digital interface based on the one ormore commands.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, configuring the digitalinterface may include operations, features, means, or instructions forpowering on the digital interface, powering off the digital interface,configuring a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface,configuring one or more resources to be monitored by the digitalinterface, or some combination thereof, based on the one or morecommands.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, using thedigital interface, an indication of a monitoring state of the digitalinterface to a base station, where the monitoring state of the digitalinterface may be based on the powering of the digital interface. Someexamples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, from a basestation, control information based on the monitoring of the secondchannel, where the control information includes one or more commands forthe digital interface, and configuring the digital interface based onthe one or more commands.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, configuring the digitalinterface may include operations, features, means, or instructions forpowering on the digital interface, powering off the digital interface,configuring a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface,configuring one or more resources to be monitored by the digitalinterface, or some combination thereof, based on the one or morecommands.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for monitoring the secondchannel, using the digital interface, for control information accordingto a first monitoring periodicity, and transitioning from monitoring thesecond channel according to the first monitoring periodicity tomonitoring the second channel according to a second monitoringperiodicity based on the determining that the measured energy levelsatisfies the threshold, where the second monitoring periodicity may beassociated with a shorter monitoring interval than the first monitoringperiodicity.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the wireless device includesa wireless repeater. In some examples of the method, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the wirelessdevice may be configured to measure the energy level in a firstbandwidth of the first channel and monitor the control information in asecond bandwidth of the second channel. In some examples of the method,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein, the second bandwidth may be less than the first bandwidth.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for receiving out of bandcontrol information based on the monitoring of the second channel, andperforming an amplification and forward operation in the first channelfor a radio frequency analog signal based on the out of band controlinformation. In some examples of the method, apparatuses, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the out ofband control information indicates a receive beam direction for a radiofrequency analog signal, a receive time interval for the radio frequencyanalog signal, a transmit beam direction for the radio frequency analogsignal, a transmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal,or some combination thereof.

A method of wireless communication at a base station is described. Themethod may include receiving, from a wireless device in a secondchannel, an indication of a monitoring state of a digital interface ofthe wireless device. In some cases, the monitoring state of the digitalinterface is based on a powering of the digital interface, a monitoringperiodicity of the digital interface, or both. Additionally, the methodmay include transmitting, to the wireless device in the second channel,control information based on the indication of the monitoring state ofthe digital interface of the wireless device. In some cases, the controlinformation is associated with a radio frequency analog signal in afirst channel.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described.The apparatus may include a processor and memory coupled with theprocessor. The processor and memory may be configured receive, from awireless device in a second channel, an indication of a monitoring stateof a digital interface of the wireless device. In some cases, themonitoring state of the digital interface is based on a powering of thedigital interface, a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface, orboth. Additionally, the processor and memory may be configured totransmit, to the wireless device in the second channel, controlinformation based on the indication of the monitoring state of thedigital interface of the wireless device. In some cases, the controlinformation is associated with a radio frequency analog signal in afirst channel.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a base station isdescribed. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from awireless device in a second channel, an indication of a monitoring stateof a digital interface of the wireless device. In some cases, themonitoring state of the digital interface is based on a powering of thedigital interface, a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface, orboth. Additionally, the apparatus may include means for transmitting, tothe wireless device in the second channel, control information based onthe indication of the monitoring state of the digital interface of thewireless device. In some cases, the control information is associatedwith a radio frequency analog signal in a first channel.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunication at a base station is described. The code may includeinstructions executable by a processor to receive, from a wirelessdevice in a second channel, an indication of a monitoring state of adigital interface of the wireless device. In some cases, the monitoringstate of the digital interface is based on a powering of the digitalinterface, a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface, or both.Additionally, the code may include instructions executable by theprocessor to transmit, to the wireless device in the second channel,control information based on the indication of the monitoring state ofthe digital interface of the wireless device. In some cases, the controlinformation is associated with a radio frequency analog signal in afirst channel.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, to thewireless device, configuration information indicative of one or moreconfigured slots, one or more beamforming parameters, an uplink ordownlink direction, a threshold, or some combination thereof, forwireless repeater measurement of an energy level in the first channel.In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the configuration informationindicative of the threshold includes an absolute value of the energylevel or a relative value of the energy level compared to energydetected in resources other than the one or more configured slots.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the control informationincludes one or more commands for the digital interface of the wirelessdevice. In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the one or more commands maybe indicative of powering on the digital interface of the wirelessdevice, powering off the digital interface of the wireless device, amonitoring periodicity of the digital interface of the wireless device,one or more resources to be monitored by the digital interface of thewireless device, or some combination thereof.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the control informationindicates a receive beam direction for a radio frequency analog signal,a receive time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit beam direction for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, or somecombination thereof.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for receiving an amplifiedand forwarded radio frequency analog signal from the wireless devicebased on the control information. In some examples of the method,apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium describedherein, the first channel includes a millimeter wave channel and thesecond channel includes a sub-6 gigahertz channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for wireless communicationsthat supports modem control using millimeter (mmW) energy measurement inaccordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system thatsupports modem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance withone or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show block diagrams of devices that support modem controlusing mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supportsmodem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one ormore aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supportsmodem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one ormore aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show block diagrams of devices that support modem controlusing mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supportsmodem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one ormore aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supportsmodem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one ormore aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 12 through 16 show flowcharts illustrating methods that supportmodem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one ormore aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In some wireless communications systems, a base station may communicatewith a UE over a wireless link. For instance, in a wirelesstelecommunications system, base stations and UEs may operate inmillimeter wave (mmW) frequency ranges, e.g., 28 gigahertz (GHz), 40GHz, 60 GHz, etc. That is, the electromagnetic spectrum is oftensubdivided, based on frequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands,channels, etc. In 5G NR two initial operating bands have been identifiedas frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz-52.6 GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred toas mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band invarious documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimesoccurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably)as a “millimeter wave” or band in documents and articles, despite beingdifferent from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz)which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)as a “millimeter wave” band. With the above aspects in mind, unlessspecifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term“sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequenciesthat may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-bandfrequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should beunderstood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used hereinmay broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies,may be within FR2, or may be within the EHF band.

Wireless communications at these frequencies may be associated withincreased signal attenuation (e.g., pathloss), which may be influencedby various factors, such as temperature, barometric pressure,diffraction, blockage, etc. As a result, signal processing techniques,such as beamforming, may be used to coherently combine energy andovercome the pathlosses at these frequencies. However, the transmissionof a signal (such as a beamformed signal) between the base station andthe UE may not be possible or may be interfered with due to a physicalbarrier or a radio frequency (RF) jammer. In these cases, a repeatingdevice (e.g., a wireless repeater, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, awireless relay device, or the like) may be used to repeat and/or relaythe transmission from the base station to the UE, and vice versa,thereby enabling efficient communication in the presence of physicalbarriers, RF jammers, etc. In some examples, a repeating device such asa smart repeater may capable of advanced operation features as describedherein.

A wireless repeater may repeat, extend, or redirect wireless signalsreceived from a base station to a UE, from the UE to the base station,or between other wireless devices. For example, the repeater may receivea signal from a base station and retransmit the signal to a UE, orreceive a signal from a UE and retransmit the signal to the basestation. In some examples, a wireless repeater may amplify and forward(e.g., amplify and transmit) signals transmitted between wirelessdevices. In cases where transmissions from the base station to the UE(and vice versa) are blocked due to physical barriers or are associatedwith path loss influenced by various factors (e.g., such as distancebetween the base station and UE, temperature, barometric pressure,diffraction, blockage, etc.), a wireless repeater may receive signalstransmitted between wireless devices, amplify the received signals, andforward (e.g., transmit) the amplified signals to facilitate efficientcommunications between the wireless devices.

Additionally, in some cases, various phase rotations may be applied tosignals transmitted between wireless devices, where, for example, a basestation may transmit a signal on a first carrier frequency and with aphase rotation (e.g., a pre-rotation). In cases where transmissions fromthe base station to the UE (and vice versa) are blocked due to an RFjammer, the RF jammer may corrupt certain frequencies, and thosefrequencies (such as the frequency used for transmission by the basestation) may therefore not be reliable for transmission. As such, awireless repeater may be used to transmit (or retransmit) the signalafter amplifying the signal, performing a frequency translation (e.g.,heterodyning) of a first carrier frequency to a second carrierfrequency, etc. For example, the second carrier frequency may bedifferent from the frequency that was used to transmit the signal to therepeater, and may be unaffected by interference from the RF jammer.

The wireless repeater may be configured to perform relay operations(e.g., wireless repeater operations, such as signal amplification,signal phase rotation, signal forwarding, etc.) to reduce or minimizepath loss or interference in various environments. In some cases, therepeater may be configured via base station control signaling. Forexample, a base station may control parameters of wireless repeaterforwarding such as amplification, direction, frequency gains, frequencytranslation, etc. As such, a wireless repeater may monitor a controlchannel (e.g., a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) for controlinformation from the base station in order to configure and performrelay (e.g., amplification and forwarding) duties.

However, in some cases, diligent monitoring for control information(e.g., monitoring of every slot of a control channel) may be associatedwith high power consumption at the wireless repeater. In cases where aUE is not attached to the wireless repeater or base station, suchmonitoring for control information may be inefficient, as relay dutiesmay be less likely to be configured or may be less frequently configuredin such cases. Further, it may be efficient for some wireless repeatersto monitor for out of band control information using an out of bandcontrol interface (e.g., a sub-6 GHz narrowband internet of things(NB-IoT) modem). Out of band control information may refer to controlinformation received in a different band or frequency channel than theband or frequency channel the wireless repeater is configured for relayoperations in. For example, a wireless repeater may perform relayoperations for mmW communications between a base station and a UE, andthe wireless repeater may monitor for out of band control information(e.g., in some sub-6 GHz channel). In such an example, the wirelessrepeater may continuously or frequently power the control interface(e.g., the sub-6 GHz NB-IoT modem) to monitor for out of band controlinformation, which may result in unnecessary power consumption in caseswhere a UE is not attached to the base station or wireless repeater(e.g., in cases where wireless repeater relay duties for mmWcommunications may be less frequent or nonexistent).

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices,and apparatuses that support modem control using mmW energy measurement.Generally, the described techniques provide for efficient monitoring forout of band control information based on measured energy levels (e.g.,in mmW spectrum). For example, a wireless repeater (e.g., a wirelessrelay, a smart repeater, a mmW repeater, etc.) may operate in a powersaving mode and may monitor for out of band control information from abase station according to a slow state (e.g., a sub-6 GHz modem maymonitor for control information according to a long, or less frequent,monitoring periodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associatedwith a fast state). Upon detection of possible UE attachment to the basestation (e.g., upon detection of a random access channel (RACH) messagein a mmW channel), the wireless repeater may transition to monitoringfor out of band control information from the base station according to afast state (e.g., according to a short, or more frequent, monitoringperiodicity relative to a monitoring periodicity associated with a slowstate).

For example, a wireless repeater may use analog mmW measurements tocontrol a digital interface (e.g., a sub-6 GHz NB-IoT modem) used formonitoring an out of band control channel. If the wireless repeaterdetects energy in a mmW channel (e.g., in one or more preconfiguredslots, such as one or more RACH slots), the wireless repeater maytransition a sub-6 GHz digital control interface to an active state(e.g., a fast state) to monitor for control information from the basestation (e.g., where the control information may further configureoperation of the sub-6 GHz digital control interface, configure relayoperations in the mmW channel, etc.). Generally, transitioning of an outof band digital control interface to an active state may refer topowering (e.g., turning on) the out of band digital control interface,more frequently monitoring a control channel using the out of banddigital control interface, etc. As such, prior to mmW energy detection,operation of the out of band digital control interface in a slow statemay refer to operation with a powered off out of band digital controlinterface, operation with the out of band digital control interface in alow power state, operation with less frequent monitoring of the controlchannel using the out of band digital control interface, etc.

As discussed herein, a base station may transmit control commands (e.g.,fast commands configuring more frequent control channel monitoring bythe wireless repeater, slow commands configuring less frequent controlchannel monitoring by the wireless repeater, etc.) via the out of bandcontrol channel to modify the monitoring configuration of the wirelessrepeater. For example, upon detection of possible UE attachment (e.g.,upon a mmW energy measurement that exceeds a configured threshold), awireless repeater may transition an out of band digital controlinterface to a tentative fast state, and may monitor a control channel(e.g., a sub-6 GHz control channel) according to the tentative faststate for additional control commands from the base station. If nocontrol commands are received from the base station (e.g., prior toexpiration of a timer maintained by the wireless repeater), the wirelessrepeater may transition the out of band digital control interface backto a slow state (e.g., and monitor the control channel less frequently,or not at all, according to the slow state).

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of awireless communications system. Process flows for implementation ofaspects of the discussed techniques are then described. Aspects of thedisclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference toapparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100that supports modem control using mmW energy measurement in accordancewith one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wirelesscommunications system 100 includes network devices 105, UEs 115, and acore network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system100 may be a LTE network, a LTE-A network, a LTE-A Pro network, or a NRnetwork. In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may supportenhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., missioncritical) communications, low latency communications, or communicationswith low-cost and low-complexity devices. Wireless communications system100 may support signaling between network devices 105, repeaters 140,and UEs 115 for configuration and management of repeater 140 controlchannel monitoring.

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, accessauthorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and otheraccess, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be anevolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobilitymanagement entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and atleast one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may managenon-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility,authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by networkdevices 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transferredthrough the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GWmay provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GWmay be connected to the network operators IP services. The operators IPservices may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched (PS) Streaming Service.

At least some of the network devices 105 (e.g., network device 105-a),which may be an example of a base station (e.g., eNB, network accessdevices, gNB), or network device 105-b, which may be an example of anaccess node controller (ANC)), may interface with the core network 130through backhaul links 132 (e.g., S1, S2) and may perform radioconfiguration and scheduling for communication with the UEs 115. Invarious examples, the network devices 105-b may communicate, eitherdirectly or indirectly (e.g., through core network 130), with each otherover backhaul links 134 (e.g., X1, X2), which may be wired or wirelesscommunication links.

Each network device 105-b may also additionally or alternativelycommunicate with a number of UEs 115 through a number of other networkdevices 105-c, where network device 105-c may be an example of a smartradio head (or through a number of smart radio heads). In alternativeconfigurations, various functions of each network device 105 may bedistributed across various network devices 105 (e.g., radio heads andaccess network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device105 (e.g., a base station).

Network devices 105 may wirelessly communicate with UEs 115 via one ormore base station antennas. Network device 105 described herein mayinclude or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radiotransceiver, a NodeB, an eNB, a next-generation Node B or giga-nodeB(either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a HomeeNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. Wireless communicationssystem 100 may include network devices 105 of different types (e.g.,macro or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 described herein may beable to communicate with various types of network devices 105 andnetwork equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs, relaybase stations, and the like. In some examples, a network device 105 maywirelessly communicate with one or more repeaters 140 (e.g., repeatingdevices, wireless repeaters) that may support the retransmission,amplification, frequency translation, etc. of signaling to one or moreother devices, such as a UE 115. Similarly, a repeater 140 may be usedto retransmit or forward signaling from a UE 115 to a network device105.

Each network device 105 may be associated with a particular geographiccoverage area 110 in which communications with various UEs 115 issupported. Each network device 105 may provide communication coveragefor a respective geographic coverage area 110 via communication links125, and communication links 125 between a network device 105 and a UE115 may utilize one or more carriers. Communication links 125 shown inwireless communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions froma UE 115 to a network device 105, or downlink transmissions from anetwork device 105 to a UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also becalled forward link transmissions while uplink transmissions may also becalled reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 for a network device 105 may be dividedinto sectors making up only a portion of the geographic coverage area110, and each sector may be associated with a cell. For example, eachnetwork device 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell,a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or variouscombinations thereof. In some examples, a network device 105 may bemovable and therefore provide communication coverage for a movinggeographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographiccoverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap,and overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with differenttechnologies may be supported by the same network device 105 or bydifferent network devices 105. The wireless communications system 100may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro or NRnetwork in which different types of network devices 105 provide coveragefor various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term “cell” refers to a logical communication entity used forcommunication with a network device 105 (e.g., over a carrier), and maybe associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells(e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier(VCID)) operating via the same or a different carrier. In some examples,a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may beconfigured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-typecommunication (MTC), narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), enhancedmobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access fordifferent types of devices. In some cases, the term “cell” may refer toa portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over whichthe logical entity operates.

UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications system100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also bereferred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, ahandheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitableterminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, astation, a terminal, or a client. A UE 115 may also be a personalelectronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. Insome examples, a UE 115 may also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL)station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything(IoE) device, or an MTC device, or the like, which may be implemented invarious articles such as appliances, vehicles, meters, or the like. A UE115 may communicate with the core network 130 through communication link135.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or lowcomplexity devices, and may provide for automated communication betweenmachines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication). M2Mcommunication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies thatallow devices to communicate with one another or a network device 105without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTCmay include communications from devices that integrate sensors or metersto measure or capture information and relay that information to acentral server or application program that can make use of theinformation or present the information to humans interacting with theprogram or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collectinformation or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples ofapplications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventorymonitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcaremonitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological eventmonitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing,physical access control, and transaction-based business charging. Insome cases, a repeater 140 may be a MTC or IoT device that is controlledby a network device 105 or UE 115 via a low bandwidth (low-band) orNB-IoT connection and performs repeating of received signals withoutdemodulation or decoding of such signals based on control informationprovided by the low-band or NB-IoT connection.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reducepower consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode thatsupports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but nottransmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples half-duplexcommunications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other powerconservation techniques for UEs 115 include entering a power saving modewhen not engaging in active communications, or operating over a limitedbandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications). In some cases,UEs 115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., missioncritical functions), and a wireless communications system 100 may beconfigured to provide ultra-reliable communications for these functions.

In some cases, a UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly withother UEs 115 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device(D2D) protocol). One or more of a group of UEs 115 utilizing D2Dcommunications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of anetwork device 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside thegeographic coverage area 110 of a network device 105, or be otherwiseunable to receive transmissions from a network device 105. In somecases, groups of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications mayutilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE 115 transmits toevery other UE 115 in the group. In some cases, a network device 105facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In othercases, D2D communications are carried out between UEs 115 without theinvolvement of a network device 105.

Network devices 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and withone another. For example, network devices 105 may interface with thecore network 130 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, orother interface). Network devices 105 may communicate with one anotherover backhaul links 134 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) eitherdirectly (e.g., directly between network devices 105) or indirectly(e.g., via core network 130).

At least some of the network devices, such as a network device 105, mayinclude subcomponents such as an access network entity, which may be anexample of an ANC. Each access network entity may communicate with UEs115 through a number of other access network transmission entities,which may be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, or atransmission/reception point (TRP). In some configurations, variousfunctions of each access network entity or network device 105 may bedistributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and accessnetwork controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g.,a network device 105).

Wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or morefrequency bands, for example, in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. Theregion from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF)region or decimeter band, since the wavelengths range from approximatelyone decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked orredirected by buildings and environmental features. However, the wavesmay penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provideservice to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmission of UHF waves may beassociated with smaller antennas and shorter range (e.g., less than 100km) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longerwaves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion ofthe spectrum below 300 MHz.

Wireless communications system 100 may also operate in a super highfrequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, alsoknown as the centimeter band. The SHF region includes bands such as the5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, which may be usedopportunistically by devices that can tolerate interference from otherusers.

Wireless communications system 100 may also operate in an extremely highEHF region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known asthe millimeter band. In some examples, wireless communications system100 may support mmW communications between UEs 115 and network devices105, and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be even smaller andmore closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases, this mayfacilitate use of antenna arrays within a UE 115. However, thepropagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greateratmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions.Techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions thatuse one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bandsacross these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may utilize bothlicensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example,wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access(LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technologyin an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz ISM band. When operating inunlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, wireless devices such asnetwork devices 105 and UEs 115 may employ listen-before-talk (LBT)procedures to ensure a frequency channel is clear before transmittingdata. In some cases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a CAconfiguration in conjunction with CCs operating in a licensed band(e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlinktransmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or acombination of these. Duplexing in unlicensed spectrum may be based onfrequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or acombination of both.

In some examples, network device 105 or UE 115 may be equipped withmultiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such astransmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) communications, or beamforming. For example, wirelesscommunications system 100 may use a transmission scheme between atransmitting device (e.g., a network device 105) and a receiving device(e.g., a UE 115), where the transmitting device is equipped withmultiple antennas and the receiving devices are equipped with one ormore antennas. MIMO communications may employ multipath signalpropagation to increase the spectral efficiency by transmitting orreceiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may bereferred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, forexample, be transmitted by the transmitting device via differentantennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiplesignals may be received by the receiving device via different antennasor different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals maybe referred to as a separate spatial stream, and may carry bitsassociated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) ordifferent data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated withdifferent antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMOtechniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) where multiple spatiallayers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-userMIMO (MU-MIMO) where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multipledevices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering,directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signalprocessing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or areceiving device (e.g., a network device 105 or a UE 115) to shape orsteer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or receive beam) along aspatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device.Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated viaantenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating atparticular orientations with respect to an antenna array experienceconstructive interference while others experience destructiveinterference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antennaelements may include a transmitting device or a receiving deviceapplying certain amplitude and phase offsets to signals carried via eachof the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustmentsassociated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by abeamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g.,with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device orreceiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).

In one example, a network device 105 may use multiple antennas orantenna arrays to conduct beamforming operations for directionalcommunications with a UE 115. For instance, some signals (e.g.synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, orother control signals) may be transmitted by a network device 105multiple times in different directions, which may include a signal beingtransmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associatedwith different directions of transmission. Transmissions in differentbeam directions may be used to determine or identify (e.g., by thenetwork device 105 or a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beamdirection for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the networkdevice 105. Some signals, such as data signals associated with aparticular receiving device, may be transmitted by a network device 105in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with thereceiving device, such as a UE 115). In some examples, the beamdirection associated with transmissions along a single beam directionmay be determined based at least in in part on a signal that wastransmitted in different beam directions. For example, a UE 115 mayreceive one or more of the signals transmitted by the network device 105in different directions, and the UE 115 may report to the network device105 an indication of the signal it received with a highest signalquality, or an otherwise acceptable signal quality. Although thesetechniques are described with reference to signals transmitted in one ormore directions by a network device 105, a UE 115 may employ similartechniques for transmitting signals multiple times in differentdirections (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequenttransmission or reception by the UE 115), or transmitting a signal in asingle direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device).

A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115, which may be an example of a mmWreceiving device) may try multiple receive beams when receiving varioussignals from the network device 105, such as synchronization signals,reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. Forexample, a receiving device may try multiple receive directions byreceiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing receivedsignals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving accordingto different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals receivedat a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processingreceived signals according to different receive beamforming weight setsapplied to signals received at a plurality of antenna elements of anantenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” accordingto different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples areceiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a singlebeam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receivebeam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least inpart on listening according to different receive beam directions (e.g.,a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highestsignal-to-noise ratio, or otherwise acceptable signal quality based atleast in part on listening according to multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a network device 105 or UE 115 may belocated within one or more antenna arrays, which may support MIMOoperations, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or morebase station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antennaassembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, antennas or antennaarrays associated with a network device 105 may be located in diversegeographic locations. A network device 105 may have an antenna arraywith a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the networkdevice 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that maysupport various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-basednetwork that operate according to a layered protocol stack. In the userplane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol(PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may insome cases perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicateover logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may performpriority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transportchannels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request(HARD) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve linkefficiency. In the control plane, the RRC protocol layer may provideestablishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connectionbetween a UE 115 and a network device 105 or core network 130 supportingradio bearers for user plane data. At the Physical (PHY) layer,transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, UEs 115 and network devices 105 may supportretransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is receivedsuccessfully. HARQ feedback is one technique of increasing thelikelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using acyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), andretransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improvethroughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g.,signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, a wireless device maysupport same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQfeedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol inthe slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in asubsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.

Time intervals in LTE or NR may be expressed in multiples of a basictime unit, which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of T_(s)=1/30,720,000 seconds. Time intervals of a communications resource may beorganized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be expressed asT_(f)=307,200 T_(s). The radio frames may be identified by a systemframe number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having aduration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbolperiods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended toeach symbol period). Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period maycontain 2048 sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may be thesmallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100, andmay be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In othercases, a smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g.,in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) or in selected component carriersusing sTTIs).

In some wireless communications systems, a slot may further be dividedinto multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In someinstances, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the smallestunit of scheduling. Each symbol may vary in duration depending on thesubcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation, for example. Further,some wireless communications systems may implement slot aggregation inwhich multiple slots or mini-slots are aggregated together and used forcommunication between a UE 115 and a network device 105.

The term “carrier” refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resourceshaving a defined physical layer structure for supporting communicationsover a communication link 125. For example, a carrier of a communicationlink 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band thatis operated according to physical layer channels for a given radioaccess technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data,control information, or other signaling. A carrier may be associatedwith a pre-defined frequency channel (e.g., an E-UTRA absolute radiofrequency channel number (EARFCN)), and may be positioned according to achannel raster for discovery by UEs 115. Carriers may be downlink oruplink (e.g., in an FDD mode), or be configured to carry downlink anduplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode). In some examples, signalwaveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiplesub-carriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques suchas OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM).

The organizational structure of the carriers may be different fordifferent radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR,etc.). For example, communications over a carrier may be organizedaccording to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as wellas control information or signaling to support decoding the user data. Acarrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g.,synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and controlsignaling that coordinates operation for the carrier. In some examples(e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also haveacquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operationsfor other carriers.

Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to varioustechniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel maybe multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using time divisionmultiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM)techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, controlinformation transmitted in a physical control channel may be distributedbetween different control regions in a cascaded manner (e.g., between acommon control region or common search space and one or more UE-specificcontrol regions or UE-specific search spaces).

A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radiofrequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier bandwidth may bereferred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wirelesscommunications system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be oneof a number of predetermined bandwidths for carriers of a particularradio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). Insome examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating overportions or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol typethat is associated with a predefined portion or range (e.g., set ofsubcarriers or RBs) within a carrier (e.g., “in-band” deployment of anarrowband protocol type).

In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist ofone symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and onesubcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inverselyrelated. The number of bits carried by each resource element may dependon the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme).Thus, the more resource elements that a UE 115 receives and the higherthe order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be forthe UE 115. In MIMO systems, a wireless communications resource mayrefer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a timeresource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers), and the use ofmultiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate forcommunications with a UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., network devices105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supportscommunications over a particular carrier bandwidth, or may beconfigurable to support communications over one of a set of carrierbandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 mayinclude network devices 105 and/or UEs 115 that can support simultaneouscommunications via carriers associated with more than one differentcarrier bandwidth.

Wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE115 on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to ascarrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may beconfigured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCsaccording to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregationmay be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may utilize enhancedcomponent carriers (eCCs). An eCC may be characterized by one or morefeatures including wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, shortersymbol duration, shorter TTI duration, or modified control channelconfiguration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrieraggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g.,when multiple serving cells have a suboptimal or non-ideal backhaullink). An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum orshared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to usethe spectrum). An eCC characterized by wide carrier bandwidth mayinclude one or more segments that may be utilized by UEs 115 that arenot capable of monitoring the whole carrier bandwidth or are otherwiseconfigured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to conserve power).

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than otherCCs, which may include use of a reduced symbol duration as compared withsymbol durations of the other CCs. A shorter symbol duration may beassociated with increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. Adevice, such as a UE 115 or network device 105, utilizing eCCs maytransmit wideband signals (e.g., according to frequency channel orcarrier bandwidths of 20, 40, 60, 80 MHz, etc.) at reduced symboldurations (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in eCC may consist of one ormultiple symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (that is, thenumber of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

Wireless communications systems such as an NR system may utilize anycombination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, amongothers. The flexibility of eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacingmay allow for the use of eCC across multiple spectrums. In someexamples, NR shared spectrum may increase spectrum utilization andspectral efficiency, specifically through dynamic vertical (e.g., acrossthe frequency domain) and horizontal (e.g., across the time domain)sharing of resources.

A UE 115 attempting to access a wireless network may perform an initialcell search by detecting a primary synchronization signal (PSS) from anetwork device 105. The PSS may enable synchronization of slot timingand may indicate a physical layer identity value. The UE 115 may thenreceive a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The SSS may enableradio frame synchronization, and may provide a cell identity value,which may be combined with the physical layer identity value to identifythe cell. The SSS may also enable detection of a duplexing mode and acyclic prefix length. Some systems, such as TDD systems, may transmit anSSS but not a PSS. Both the PSS and the SSS may be located in thecentral 62 and 72 subcarriers of a carrier, respectively. In some cases,a network device 105 may transmit synchronization signals (e.g., PSSSSS, and the like) using multiple beams in a beam-sweeping mannerthrough a cell coverage area. In some cases, PSS, SSS, and/or broadcastinformation (e.g., a physical broadcast channel (PBCH)) may betransmitted within a synchronization signal block (SSB) on respectivedirectional beams, where one or more SSBs may be included within asynchronization signal burst.

Wireless communications system 100 may include one or more repeaters 140(e.g., wireless repeaters 140). Wireless repeaters 140 may includefunctionality to repeat, extend, and redirect wireless signalstransmitted within a wireless communications system. In some cases,wireless repeaters 140 may be used in line-of-sight (LOS) or non-line ofsight (NLOS) scenarios. In a LOS scenario, directional (e.g.,beamformed) transmissions, such as mmW transmissions, may be limited bypath-loss through air. In a NLOS scenario, such as in an urban area orindoors, mmW transmissions may be limited by signal blocking or signalinterfering physical objects. In either scenario, a wireless repeater140 may be used to receive a signal from a network device 105 (e.g., abase station) and transmit a signal to UE 115, or receive a signal froma UE 115 and transmit the signal to the network device 105. Beamforming,filtering, gain control, and phase correction techniques may be utilizedby the wireless repeater 140 to improve signal quality and avoid radiofrequency interference with the transmitted signal. Phase rotationadjustment may be applied by the wireless repeater 140 to the signal tocorrect for phase rotation error caused by the frequency translation bythe repeater 140.

In some cases, a wireless repeater 140 may include an array of receptionantennas and an array of transmission antennas. In some cases, thewireless repeater 140 may include digital filtering, and the wirelessrepeater 140 may include a signal processing chain connected (e.g.,coupled, linked, attached) between the array of reception of antennasand the array of transmission antennas. The signal processing chain maybe implemented as an radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), whichmay include radio frequency/microwave components such as one or morephase shifters, low noise amplifiers (LNAs), power amplifiers (PAs), PAdrivers, heterodyning mixers, carrier tracking circuits, gaincontrollers, power detectors, filters, or other circuitry, inconjunction with a digital component that may include one or more ofdigital filters, processors, analog-to-digital (A/D) converters,digital-to-analog (D/A) converters, or other circuitry. The phaseshifters may be controlled by one or more beam controllers forbeamforming to reduce signal interference. The heterodyning mixers maydownconvert a frequency of a received signal to an intermediatefrequency (IF) or baseband frequency, that may be filtered by the one ormore filters, and the heterodyning mixers may upconvert the filteredsignal back to the higher frequency. The signal processing chain mayinclude a feedback path for monitoring the output of one or more PAs,and adjusting gains to one or more PA drivers to the PAs and gains toone or more LNAs based on the output. The gain adjustment may functionto stabilize the signal reception and transmission and improve signalquality between devices such as network device 105 and UE 115.Accordingly, through beamforming, filtering, and gain control, signalquality (e.g., mmW signals) may be improved in LOS and NLOS scenarios.

As described, the wireless repeater 140 may include components (e.g.,antenna arrays and signal processing chain circuitry) in theanalog/radio frequency domain, as well as one or more digital filters,or both analog and digital filters. Further, in some cases the wirelessrepeater 140 may include digital circuitry for receiving controlinformation (e.g., for receiving remote configuration of gain,direction, and local oscillator tracking via sub-6 or via mmW signals).In some cases where the control information is not received via the mmWsignals, the control information may be received using a different radioaccess technology than used between the network device 105 and UE 115.For example, one or more side channels may be used to provide controlinformation and implemented as Bluetooth, ultra-wide band, wireless LAN,etc. protocols, and as such, the repeater 140 may include circuitryand/or processors for receiving and processing signals received viathose protocols and controlling beamforming at the radio frequencycomponents based on those signals received at the side channel. In somecases, control information may be received via a sub-6 GHz NB-IoTchannel.

As discussed herein, a wireless repeater may perform relay operations(e.g., amplification and forwarding operations) for communicationsbetween a base station and a UE in some channel (e.g., in a mmWchannel). The wireless repeater may use energy measurements in thechannel (e.g., analog mmW measurements) to control or configure adigital interface for monitoring out of band control information (e.g.,in a sub-6 GHz channel). That is, a wireless repeater may use energymeasurements of signals transmitted by a base station 105 and/or a UE115 (e.g., in mmW band) to configure (e.g., turn on) a digital interfaceof another modem (e.g., in a sub-6 GHz band).

In some aspects, a repeater 140 may refer to a mmW repeater 140 and mayreceive an analog mmW signal from a network device 105, may amplify theanalog mmW signal, and may transmit the amplified mmW signal to one ormore UEs 115. In some aspects, the mmW repeater 140 may be an analog mmWrepeater, sometimes also referred to as a layer-1 mmW repeater.Additionally, or alternatively, the repeater 140 may be a wirelesstransmit receive point (TRP) acting as a distributed unit (e.g., of a 5Gaccess node) that communicates wirelessly with a network device 105acting as a central unit or an access node controller (e.g., of the 5Gaccess node). In some examples, the repeater 140 may receive, amplify,and transmit the analog mmW signal without performing analog-to-digitalconversion of the analog mmW signal and/or without performing anydigital signal processing on the mmW signal. In this way, latency may bereduced and a cost to produce the repeater 140 may be reduced.Additional details regarding repeater 140 are provided elsewhere herein.

One or more of the network devices 105 may include a communicationsmanager 101, which may receive, from a wireless repeater 140 in a firstchannel (e.g., a mmW channel), an indication of a radio frequency analogsignal. The communications manager 101 may receive, from the wirelessrepeater 140 in a second channel (e.g., a sub-6 GHz channel), anindication of a monitoring state of a digital interface of the wirelessrepeater 140, where the monitoring state of the digital interface isbased on a powering of the digital interface, a monitoring periodicityof the digital interface, or both. The communications manager 101 maytransmit, to the wireless repeater 140 in the second channel, controlinformation based on the indication of the monitoring state of thedigital interface of the wireless repeater 140.

Repeaters 140 may include a communications manager 102, which maymeasure an energy level in a first channel (e.g., in a mmW channel)during one or more configured slots (e.g., in one or more RACH slots).In some cases, the communications manager 102 may determine that themeasured energy level satisfies a threshold. For example, thecommunications manager 102 may determine the measured energy level isgreater than a threshold and power on a digital interface (e.g., a sub-6GHz NB-IoT modem) based on the determination that the measured energylevel is greater than the threshold. The communications manager 102 maythen monitor a second channel (e.g., a sub-6 GHz channel), using thedigital interface, for control information

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 200that supports modem control using mmW energy measurement in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, wirelesscommunications system 200 may implement aspects of wirelesscommunications system 100. For instance, wireless communications system200 may include a base station 105-a and a UE 115-a, which may beexamples of a network device 105 and UE 115 as described with referenceto FIG. 1. Base station 105-a may communicate with one or more UEs 115.In some cases, communications may be relayed from base station 105-a toUEs 115 (and vice versa) by one or more repeaters 205 (e.g., wirelessrepeaters), such as repeater 205-a which may be an example of a repeater140 described with reference to FIG. 1.

In the example of FIG. 2, repeater 205-a may monitor an out of bandcontrol channel 210 (e.g., an out of band downlink control channel) forcontrol information 215 sent by base station 105-a. Further, repeater205-a may monitor configured slots (e.g., RACH slots) for signals 220that may be sent by one or more UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-a), and repeater205-a may transmit forwarded signals 225 to base station 105-a. Repeater205-a may be configured to forward a signal 220. As discussed in moredetail herein, a repeater configuration may include information orparameters for configuring forwarding operations performed by therepeater 205-a. In the present example, repeater 205-a may be configuredto forward an uplink signal 220 from UE 115-a to base station 105-a(e.g., such that repeater 205-a transmits a forwarded signal 225 to basestation 105-a). Aspects of the techniques described herein are alsoapplicable to downlink forwarding operations performed by repeater 205-aby analogy, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.For example, repeater 205-a may perform energy measurement and digitalinterface configuration techniques described herein based on uplinksignals or downlink signals, depending on the configuration of therepeater 205-a).

As discussed herein, repeaters 205 may relay signals between a basestation 105 and UEs 115 to avoid or reduce blockage or interference. Forexample, in some cases, there may be an object blocking a signal beingtransmitted from the base station 105-a to the UE 115-a, or vice versa.The object may be a physical object or, in some cases, may be afrequency-based jammer, such as an RF jammer. Physical objects that mayblock transmitted signals may include hills, mountains, buildings,walls, other infrastructure, etc. An RF jammer may function bytargeting, interfering with, blocking, or jamming, certain frequenciesthat transmissions are sent on. As an example, an RF jammer may includeanother wireless device (e.g., other base stations 105, UEs 115, etc.),other types of transmissions or signals (e.g., radar, satellite, etc.),or the like. RF jammers may include radio frequency jammers that affecttransmissions through adjacent channel selectivity (ACS) jamming,in-band blocking (IBB), and out-of-band (OOB) jamming.

In the example of FIG. 2, repeater 205-a may repeat, extend, or redirectwireless signals received from base station 105-a to UE 115-a, from UE115-a to base station 105-a, or between other wireless devices. Forexample, the repeater 205-a may receive a signal from base station 105-aand retransmit the signal to a UE 115-a, or receive a signal from UE115-a and retransmit the signal to base station 105-a. In some examples,repeater 205-a may amplify and forward (e.g., amplify and transmit)signals transmitted between base station 105-a and UE 115-a. In caseswhere transmissions from base station 105-a to UE 115-a (and vice versa)are blocked due to physical barriers or are associated with path lossinfluenced by various factors (e.g., such as distance between the basestation and UE, temperature, barometric pressure, diffraction, blockage,etc.), repeater 205-a may receive signals transmitted between basestation 105-a and UE 115-a, amplify received signals, and forward theamplified signals to facilitate efficient communications between basestation 105-a and UE 115-a.

For example, to support communications between base station 105-a and UE115-a, repeater 205-a may amplify and forward SSBs (e.g., to relaysystem information to UEs 115), as well as amplify and forward RACHmessaging (e.g., to facilitate UE 115 random access procedures). Assuch, repeater 205-a may facilitate UE 115-a attachment (e.g.,connection) to base station 105-a (e.g., via relay of system informationand random access messaging). Further, repeater 205-a may relaycommunications between base station 105-a and UE 115-a following UE115-a attachment (e.g., communications over an establish connectionbetween base station 105-a and UE 115-a).

As discussed herein, repeater 205-a may be configured to perform relayoperations (e.g., wireless repeater operations, such as signalamplification, signal phase rotation, signal forwarding, etc.) to reduceor minimize path loss or interference for various communications invarious environments. In some cases, the repeater may be configured viabase station 105-a control signaling. For example, base station 105-amay control parameters of repeater 205-a forwarding such asamplification, direction, frequency gains, frequency translation, etc.for various communications (e.g., synchronization signaling, randomaccess signaling, connected mode signaling, etc.) between base station105-a and UE 115-a. As such, a repeater 205-a may monitor an out of bandcontrol channel 210 (e.g., a sub-6 GHz PDCCH) for control information215 from base station 105-a in order to perform (e.g., configure) relayduties (e.g., amplification and forwarding operations for mmWcommunications between the base station 105-a and UE 115-a).

However, in some cases, diligent monitoring for control information(e.g., monitoring of every slot of an out of band control channel) maybe associated with high power consumption at the repeater 205-a.Further, in cases where a UE 115 is not attached to the repeater 205-aor the base station 105-a, such monitoring for control information maybe inefficient, as relay duties may be less likely to be configured ormay be less frequently configured in such cases. For example, repeater205-a may not be aware of whether or not any UE 115 (e.g., such as UE115-a) is attached to it (e.g., attached to base station 105-a throughrepeater 205-a). As such, in order to not miss control information forrelay duties (e.g., control information for configuring amplificationand forwarding duties), repeater 205-a may monitor out of band controlchannel 210 relatively frequently (e.g., every slot), which may resultin substantial power consumption by repeater 205-a.

As such, one or more aspects of the techniques described herein mayprovide for repeater 205-a power savings in the absence of measuredenergy levels that satisfy a configured threshold (e.g., in the absenceof an attached or connected UE 115). For example, repeater 205-a mayoperate a digital interface 235 that monitors for out of band controlinformation in a power saving mode (e.g., a slow state), and therepeater 205-a may monitor for out of band control information 215 frombase station 105-a according to a relatively long monitoringperiodicity. Upon detection of possible UE attachment to the basestation 105-a (e.g., upon detection of a mmW signal 220 from UE 115-a),repeater 205-a may transition to monitoring for out of band controlinformation 215 from base station 105-a according to a fast state (e.g.,according to a relatively short, or more frequent, monitoringperiodicity). A repeater 205-a may thus more efficiently monitor for outof band control information 215 in the presence or absence of anattached UE 115-a. In some examples, one or more integrated circuits(e.g., transceivers, processors, etc.) of repeater 205-a may implementthe power savings techniques discussed herein to reduce overall powerconsumption for the repeater 205

When no UE 115 is attached to repeater 205-a (e.g., when measured mmWenergy levels are less than some digital interface 235 triggeringthreshold), repeater 205-a may monitor out of band control channel 210for control information 215 less frequently (e.g., repeater 205-a mayoperate in a slow state). Repeater 205-a operation in a slow state mayrefer to a repeater monitoring an out of band control channel 210according to a monitoring periodicity associated with a relatively longinterval, a repeater powering off a control digital interface (e.g.,radio frequency circuitry for monitoring out of band control channel210) for relatively longer durations between out of band control channel210 monitoring, etc. In such a slow state, repeater 205-a may monitorfor mmW signals (e.g., signals 220) in one or more preconfigured slots(e.g., RACH slots), to determine whether a UE 115 is attached to it(e.g., or whether a UE 115 is attempting to attach to it) via comparisonof measured energy levels to a threshold. In some examples, a thresholdfor repeater 205-a energy measurements may be received via controlsignaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI), radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signaling, MAC control element (MAC-CE), etc.) by repeater205-a. In some cases, base station 105-a may dynamically adjust thethreshold. For example, base station 105-a may transmit a firstthreshold for repeater 205-a energy measurements at a first time andtransmit a second threshold for repeater 205-a energy measurementsdifferent from the first threshold at a second time subsequent to thefirst time based on one or more characteristics associated with a UE115. In some cases, the one or more characteristics associated with a UE115 may be based on whether a UE 115 attached to the base station 105-a.In some cases, the one or more characteristics associated with a UE 115may correspond to a characteristic known by the base station 105-a thatis either transparent to or unknowable by the repeater 205-a (e.g., acharacteristic associated with communications between the UE 115 and thebase station 105-a).

That is, repeater 205-a may measure mmW energy (e.g., measure signal 220energy) in one or more RACH slots to determine whether UE 115-a isattached to repeater 205-a (e.g., or base station 105-a), or whether UE115-a is attempting to attach to repeater 205-a (e.g., or base station105-a). If repeater 205-a determines a measured energy level is greaterthan a threshold, repeater 205-a may power digital interface 235 or mayconfigure digital interface 235 to monitor out of band control channel210 more frequently (e.g., according to a tentative fast state).Repeater 205-a operation in a tentative fast state may refer to arepeater monitoring an out of band control channel 210 according to amonitoring periodicity associated with a relatively short interval(e.g., in every slot of the out of band control channel 210), a repeaterpowering on digital interface 235 (e.g., radio frequency circuitry formonitoring out of band control channel 210), a repeater powering off adigital interface 235 for relatively shorter durations between out ofband control channel 210 monitoring, etc. As discussed herein, repeater205-a may operate in a tentative fast state (upon detection of a signal220) until additional control information 215 is received, until adigital interface timer expires (e.g., prior to receiving additionalcontrol information 215), etc. Alternatively, if repeater 205-a does notdetermine a measured energy level exceeds the threshold, the repeater205-a may go back to operating in a slow state or in a low power stateuntil the next preconfigured monitoring slot (e.g., until the nextpreconfigured RACH slot).

A repeater 205-a may include various combinations of hardware (e.g.,based on manufacturing cost considerations, repeater functionalityconsiderations, etc.). For example, a repeater 205-a may include ananalog block 230 and a digital interface 235. Generally, analog block230 may refer to various components or circuitry for analog processing,as described in more detail herein. Similarly, digital interface 235 mayrefer to various components or circuitry for digital processing, asdescribed in more detail herein. In some cases, analog block 230 may beused to measure energy levels of signals 220 received in mmW spectrum,to amplify received mmW signals 220, to forward amplified mmW signals220, etc. For example, repeater 205-a may employ an analog block 230 toamplify and forward a signal 220 received in a configured slot to basestation 105-a (e.g., and RACH detection or signal decoding may beperformed at the base station 105-a). Digital interface 235 may be usedto receive control information 215 (e.g., to monitor out of band controlchannel 210). In some cases, digital interface 235 may include or referto a digital block, a control interface, a control digital interface, anout of band interface, a sub-6 GHz NB-IoT modem, etc.

Repeater 205-a may thus be equipped with an analog block 230 for receiveenergy measurement or energy level detection. Repeater 205-a maydetermine or identify an attached UE (e.g., or a UE attempting toattach) when one or more measured energy levels are greater than athreshold. For example, repeater 205-a may measure one or more energylevels during one or more preconfigured slots, and may determine oridentify an attached UE (or a UE attempting to attach) when the one ormore measured energy levels are greater than the threshold.

Upon determination that a measured energy level (e.g., a mmW energymeasurement) is greater than a threshold, repeater 205-a may powerdigital interface 235 or transition digital interface 235 to a tentativefast state (e.g., and monitor out of band control channel 210 morefrequently for control information 215). The UE 115-a may remain such atentative fast state until additional control information 215 (e.g.,information configuring the control interface of the UE 115-a) isreceived, until a monitoring periodicity transition timer expires, etc.For example, repeater 205-a may set a timer (e.g., a digital interfacetimer) to receive a fast command (e.g., a control command configuring ashort control channel monitoring interval, a control command configuringa frequent control channel monitoring periodicity, etc.) from basestation 105-a upon determining a measured energy level in mmW spectrumis greater than a threshold. If no command is received prior toexpiration of the timer, repeater 205-a may transition the digitalinterface 235 back to a slow state (e.g., otherwise, repeater 205-a maytransition the digital interface 235 to a fast state). As such, basestation 105-a may transmit digital interface 235 configurationinformation (e.g., a fast command) to repeater 205-a (e.g., in controlinformation 215 via out of band control channel 210) upon reception of aforwarded signal 225 from repeater 205-a.

As discussed, in some cases the fast command may be implicit, such thatafter the repeater 205-a informs base station 105-a of UE 115-a (e.g.,after repeater 205-a transmits forwarded signal 225), the repeater 205-amay move digital interface 235 to a tentative fast state. If no PDCCH(e.g., control information 215) is received before the timer expires,repeater 205-a may transition digital interface 235 back to a slowstate. If a PDCCH is received to activate a repeater configuration,repeater 205-a may transition digital interface 235 to a fast state. Insome cases, base station 105-a may transmit a slow command (e.g., viacontrol information 215) to move digital interface 235 of the repeater205-a to a slow rate if no UE is attached to the repeater 205-a. Forexample, base station 105-a may determine or identify UE 115-a handoverto another base station, and may transmit a slow command to repeater205-a upon identification that the UE 115-a is detaching from therepeater 205-a. Further, base station 105-a may determine or identify UE115-a handover to itself, and may transmit a fast command to repeater205-a upon identification that the UE 115-a is attaching to the basestation 105-a. In some cases, repeater 205-a may periodically report itsstate (e.g., the monitoring state of digital interface 235, the digitalinterface 235 configuration of repeater 205-a, etc.) to base station105-a.

Generally, base station 105-a may send control commands (e.g., controlinformation 215) to repeater 205-a via out of band control channel 210.The frequency with which the repeater 205-a monitors for controlinformation 215 (e.g., the powering of digital interface 235) may affectpower consumption by the repeater 205-a. Techniques described herein maybe employed for repeater configuration of a control interface, such asdigital interface 235 (e.g., for monitoring for control information 215from a base station 105-a), based on energy measurements (e.g., mmWenergy measurements), for power savings at the repeater 205-a.

Various examples of the components of a repeater 205 (e.g., repeater205-a in FIG. 2 and repeater 205-b in FIG. 3) and operations of therepeater 205 are described in further detail in the examples of FIGS. 8through 11. Further, circuitry of a repeater 205 may be configured inother layouts not specifically illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11. Analogblock 230 may include or refer to analog or radio frequency circuitry,may include various components used within a signal processing chain ata repeater 205, etc. For example, analog block 230 may include or referto analog or radio frequency circuitry, phase shifters, mixers, receivedsignal strength indicator (RSSI) components, LNAs, filters, PAs, A/Dconverters and/or D/A converters, or a combination thereof. In somecases, the analog block 230 may support analog processing describedherein. For example, analog block 230 (e.g., a LNA) may receive a signal(e.g., signal 220), amplify the signal, and forward the signal (e.g.,transmit forwarded signal 225) to base station 105-a. Further, analogblock 230 may measure energy of a signal (e.g., signal 220) during oneor more preconfigured slots (e.g., one or more RACH slots) to determineor identify UE 115-a (e.g., to detect UE 115-a attachment). Uponidentification of UE 115-a attachment, a repeater 205 may morefrequently monitor out of band control channel 210 for additional or newcontrol information 215.

Digital interface 235 may include or refer to digital circuitry, mayinclude various components used within a signal processing chain at arepeater 205, etc. For example, digital interface 235 may include an A/Dconverter, and may convert a filtered signal to a digital filteredsignal, which may be provided to digital processing and controlcircuitry. The digital processing and control circuitry may performdigital processing, such as digital filtering, demodulation anddecoding, channel estimation, carrier tracking, or combinations thereof,on the received filtered digital signal to output a processed digitalsignal. In some cases, the digital interface 235 may support digitalprocessing described herein. For example, digital interface 235 maycontrol information 215 received via out of band control channel 210.

As such, analog block 230 may monitor some configured bandwidth in mmWspectrum for relay operations for mmW communications between basestation 105-a and UE 115-a. Analog block 230 may be employed to measureenergy levels during one or more configured slots. In cases where ameasured energy level exceeds a threshold, the repeater 205-a may powerdigital interface 235 to monitor out of band control channel 210, asdiscussed herein. In some examples, the repeater 205-a may be configuredto transmit forwarded signals 225 when a measured energy levelassociated with signals 220 exceed the threshold.

In some examples, the repeater 205-a may initially turn off digitalinterface 235 (e.g., a sub-6 GHz control modem) or may configure digitalinterface 235 to monitor out of band control channel 210 in a slow rate.The repeater 205-a may turn on an analog block 230 (e.g., which mayinclude or refer to receive modules, forwarding/transmit modules, aswell as an energy measurement module), which may operate in a mmWchannel, in a preconfigured set of time intervals (e.g., RACH slots). Insome cases, on some resources the repeater 205-a may only turn onreceive modules and energy measurement modules (e.g., and not transmitmodules) to see if base station 105-a wants to indicate somethingspecial. If enough energy is detected in the mmW channel (e.g., if therepeater 205-a determines a measured energy level is above a threshold),repeater 205-a may turn on digital interface 235. Base station 105-a mayalso provide more specific configuration information for energymeasurements (e.g., such as time resources, beamforming parameters,uplink/downlink direction used for energy measurement, an energymeasurement threshold, etc.).

If no control information 215 is received within a time period (e.g.,prior to expiration of a digital interface timer associated with adetermination that a measured energy level is greater than a threshold),repeater 205-a may turn off digital interface 235 (e.g., otherwise,repeater 205-a may configure digital interface 235 according to commandsreceived in control information 215). In some examples, repeater 205-amay inform base station 105-a of the configuration of digital interface235 (e.g., that the digital interface 235 is turned on) using thedigital interface 235, and the repeater 205-a may then wait for ON/OFF(e.g., fast or slow) commands from base station 105-a. When repeater205-a powers digital interface 235 on, repeater 205-a may receivecontrol commands (e.g., via control information 215) from base station105-a. Base station 105-a may use such control commands to turn off thedigital interface 235, set the digital interface 235 to a slowmonitoring rate, set the digital interface 235 to a fast monitoringrate, etc.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process flow 300may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100 and/orwireless communications system 200. The process flow 300 includes a basestation 105-b, which may be an example of base stations and networkdevices described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2; a repeater 205-b,which may be an example of repeaters (e.g., wireless repeaters)described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2; and a UE 115-b, which may bean example of a UE described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Theprocess flow 300 includes functions and communications implemented bybase station 105-b, repeater 205-b, and UE 115-b in the context ofmanagement of repeaters (e.g., for power savings at a repeater).

In the following description of the process flow 300, the operationsbetween base station 105-b, repeater 205-b, and UE 115-b may betransmitted in a different order than the order shown, or the operationsmay be performed in different orders or at different times. Certainoperations may also be left out of the process flow 300, or otheroperations may be added to the process flow 300. It is to be understoodthat while base station 105-b, repeater 205-b, and UE 115-b are shownperforming a number of the operations of process flow 300, any wirelessdevice may perform the operations shown.

At 305, repeater 205-b may measure an energy level in a first channel(e.g., a mmW channel) during one or more configured slots (e.g., duringone or more configured RACH slots). For example, repeater 205-b maymeasure the energy level in a mmW channel, using an analog interface,during one or more RACH slots. In some cases, the repeater 205-b mayreceive (e.g., in prior signaling from the base station 105-b)configuration information indicative of the one or more configuredslots, one or more beamforming parameters, an uplink or downlinkdirection to be used for the measuring of the energy level, thethreshold, or some combination thereof. For example, in some cases, theconfiguration information may indicate an absolute value of the energylevel or a relative value of the energy level compared to energydetected in resources other than the one or more configured slots

At 310, repeater 205-b may receive or detect a signal (e.g., based on aconfiguration of the repeater). For example, in some cases, repeater205-b may be configured to forward on the downlink, in which caserepeater 205-b may monitor for a signal from base station 105-b andreceive a transmission at 310-a. In other cases, repeater 205-b may beconfigured to forward on the uplink, in which case repeater 205-b maymonitor for a transmission from UE 115-b and receive a transmission at310-b. In some cases, repeater 205-b may perform forwarding operations,and forward the transmission received at 320-a or 320-b, according toconfiguration of the repeater 205-b.

As such, in some cases, at 310-a, base station 105-b may transmit asignal (e.g., a RACH message) during the one or more configured slots.In other cases, at 310-b, UE 115-b may transmit a signal (e.g., a RACHmessage) during the one or more configured slots. At 315, repeater 205-bmay determine that the measured energy level satisfies a threshold(e.g., when the measured energy level is greater than a threshold). At320, repeater 205-b may power on a digital interface (e.g., a digitalinterface of a modem supporting sub-6 GHz communications). In somecases, the powering of the digital interface may be based on thedetermination that the measured energy level exceeds the threshold(e.g., the determination at 315).

At 325, repeater 205-b may monitor a second channel (e.g., a sub-6 GHzchannel), using the digital interface powered at 320, for controlinformation. For example, repeater 205-b may monitor a sub-6 GHzchannel, using the digital interface, for control information from basestation 105-b. In some cases, repeater 205-b may set a digital interfacetimer based on the determination that the measured energy level is abovethe threshold, where the repeater 205-b may monitor for additionalcontrol information from base station 105-b, using the digitalinterface, for the duration of the timer. For example, if additionalcontrol information is not received from base station 105-b prior toexpiration of the digital interface timer, the repeater 205-b may turnoff the digital interface or return to operating the digital interfacein a low power or slow state. In cases where control information isreceived from base station 105-b prior to expiration of the digitalinterface timer, the repeater 205-b may configure the digital interfacein accordance with the control information (e.g., in accordance with oneor more commands for the digital interface included in the controlinformation).

At 330, repeater 205-b may forward a signal (e.g., forward the signalreceived from UE 115-b at 310-b to base station 105-b or forward thesignal received from base station 105-b at 310-a to UE 115-b). Forexample, repeater 205-b may perform relay operations (e.g.,amplification and forward operations) described herein, to relay thesignal (e.g., the RACH message) received from UE 115-b at 310-b to basestation 105-b.

At 335, repeater 205-b may transmit using the digital interface, anindication of a monitoring state of the digital interface to basestation 105-b (e.g., where the monitoring state of the digital interfaceis based on the powering of the digital interface). For example, theindication of the monitoring state of the digital interface may indicatethe digital interface is powered on, is operating in a tentative faststate, is operating in a fast state, is operating in a slow state, etc.

At 340, repeater 205-b may, in some cases, receive control informationfrom base station 105-b while monitoring the second channel (e.g., asub-6 GHz channel) for control information using the digital interface.For example, the control information may be received prior to expirationof a digital interface timer maintained by the repeater 205-b, and therepeater 205-b may configure the digital interface based on the controlinformation. In some cases, configuring the digital interface includespowering on the digital interface, powering off the digital interface,configuring a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface,configuring one or more resources to be monitored by the digitalinterface, or some combination thereof (e.g., based on the one or morecommands included in the control information).

In some examples, the repeater 205-b may receive the out of band controlinformation based on the monitoring of the second channel (e.g., at340), and the repeater 205-b may then perform an amplification andforward operation in the first channel for a radio frequency analogsignal (e.g., for a radio frequency signal from base station 105-b to UE115-b, or from UE 115-b to base station 105-b) based on the out of bandcontrol information. In some cases, the out of band control informationmay indicate a receive beam direction for a radio frequency analogsignal, a receive time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit beam direction for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, or somecombination thereof. In some cases, the out of band control informationreceived at 340 may configure the digital interface (e.g., powered bythe repeater 205-b at 320). For example, the control information mayinclude one or more commands for the repeater 205-b to power on (e.g.,or continue to power) the digital interface, to power off the digitalinterface (e.g., transition the digital interface back to a slow stateor low power state), to configure the digital interface with amonitoring periodicity (e.g., a monitoring periodicity that may beindicated by the control information), to configure the digitalinterface to monitor one or more resources (e.g., one or more resourcesthat may be indicated by the control information), etc.

In some examples, the repeater 205-b may initially (e.g., prior todetermining the measured energy level is greater than the threshold at315) monitor the second channel, using the digital interface, forcontrol information according to a first monitoring periodicity. Upondetermining that the measured energy level is greater than the threshold(e.g., at 315) the repeater 205-b may transition from monitoring thesecond channel according to the first monitoring periodicity tomonitoring the second channel according to a second monitoringperiodicity (e.g., where the second monitoring periodicity is associatedwith a shorter monitoring interval than the first monitoringperiodicity). That is, in some cases, powering the digital interface at320 may refer to transitioning from monitoring the second channel (e.g.,the out of band control channel) according to the first monitoringperiodicity to monitoring the second channel according to a secondmonitoring periodicity (e.g., powering the digital interface at 320 mayrefer to the repeater 205-b transitioning to monitoring the secondchannel more frequently).

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram 400 of a device 405 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The device 405 may be an example ofaspects of a base station 105 or a network device 105 as describedherein. The device 405 may include a receiver 410, a communicationsmanager 415, and a transmitter 420. The device 405 may also include aprocessor. Each of these components may be in communication with oneanother (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 410 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement, etc.). Information may be passedon to other components of the device 405. The receiver 410 may be anexample of aspects of the transceiver 720 described with reference toFIG. 7. The receiver 410 may utilize a single antenna or a set ofantennas.

The receiver 410 may be an example of means for performing variousaspects of power saving of smart repeaters as described herein. Thereceiver 410, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware(e.g., in receiver or transceiver circuitry). The circuitry may comprisea processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described in the present disclosure.

In some examples or implementations, receiver 410, or itssub-components, may be implemented in code (e.g., as receiver ortransceiver management software or firmware) executed by a processor, orany combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor,the functions of the receiver 410, or its sub-components may be executedby a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, or otherprogrammable logic device.

The communications manager 415 may receive, from a wireless repeater ina first channel, an indication of a radio frequency analog signal,receive, from the wireless repeater in a second channel, an indicationof a monitoring state of a digital interface of the wireless repeater,where the monitoring state of the digital interface is based on apowering of the digital interface, a monitoring periodicity of thedigital interface, or both, and transmit, to the wireless repeater inthe second channel, control information based on the indication of themonitoring state of the digital interface of the wireless repeater. Thecommunications manager 415 may be an example of aspects of thecommunications manager 710 described herein.

The communications manager 415 may be an example of means for performingvarious aspects of power saving of smart repeaters as described herein.The communications manager 415, or its sub-components, may beimplemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry).The circuitry may comprise a processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described in the present disclosure.

In some examples or implementations, communications manager 415, or itssub-components, may be implemented in code (e.g., as communicationsmanagement software or firmware) executed by a processor, or anycombination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, thefunctions of the communications manager 415, or its sub-components maybe executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, orother programmable logic device.

The communications manager 415, or its sub-components, may be physicallylocated at various positions, including being distributed such thatportions of functions are implemented at different physical locations byone or more physical components. In some examples, the communicationsmanager 415, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinctcomponent in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.In some examples, the communications manager 415, or its sub-components,may be combined with one or more other hardware components, includingbut not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, anetwork server, another computing device, one or more other componentsdescribed in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the communications manager 415 to provide or support ameans for performing various operations (e.g., receiving, determining,processing, performing, and transmitting) using or otherwise incooperation with the receiver 410, transmitter 420, or both.

The transmitter 420 may transmit signals generated by other componentsof the device 405. In some examples, the transmitter 420 may becollocated with a receiver 410 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 420 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720described with reference to FIG. 7. The transmitter 420 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

The transmitter 420 may be an example of means for performing variousaspects of power saving of smart repeaters as described herein. Thetransmitter 420, or its sub-components, may be implemented in hardware(e.g., in transmitter or transceiver circuitry). The circuitry maycomprise a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described in thepresent disclosure.

In some examples or implementations, transmitter 420, or itssub-components, may be implemented in code (e.g., as transmitter ortransceiver management software or firmware) executed by a processor, orany combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor,the functions of the transmitter 420, or its sub-components may beexecuted by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, am ASIC, a FPGA, orother programmable logic device.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram 500 of a device 505 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 may be an example ofaspects of a device 405, base station 105, or a network device 105 asdescribed herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, acommunications manager 515, and a transmitter 535. The device 505 mayalso include a processor. Each of these components may be incommunication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 510 may receive or provide means for receiving informationsuch as packets, user data, or control information associated withvarious information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, andinformation related to modem control using mmW energy measurement,etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device505. The receiver 510 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver720 described with reference to FIG. 7. The receiver 510 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

The communications manager 515 may be an example of aspects of thecommunications manager 415 as described herein. The communicationsmanager 515 may include a repeater signaling manager 520, a repeaterconfiguration manager 525, and a control manager 530. The communicationsmanager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager710 described herein.

The repeater signaling manager 520 may receive or provide means forreceiving, from a wireless repeater in a first channel, an indication ofa radio frequency analog signal. The repeater configuration manager 525may receive or provide means for receiving, from the wireless repeaterin a second channel, an indication of a monitoring state of a digitalinterface of the wireless repeater, where the monitoring state of thedigital interface is based on a powering of the digital interface, amonitoring periodicity of the digital interface, or both. The controlmanager 530 may transmit or provide means for transmitting, to thewireless repeater in the second channel, control information based onthe indication of the monitoring state of the digital interface of thewireless repeater.

The transmitter 535 may transmit signals generated by other componentsof the device 505. In some examples, the transmitter 535 may becollocated with a receiver 510 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 535 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 720described with reference to FIG. 7. The transmitter 535 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a communications manager 605 thatsupports modem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance withone or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communicationsmanager 605 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager415, a communications manager 515, or a communications manager 710described herein. The communications manager 605 may include a repeatersignaling manager 610, a repeater configuration manager 615, and acontrol manager 620. Each of these modules may communicate, directly orindirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The repeater signaling manager 610 may receive or provide means forreceiving, from a wireless repeater in a first channel, an indication ofa radio frequency analog signal. In some examples, the repeatersignaling manager 610 may receive or provide means for receiving anamplified and forwarded radio frequency analog signal from the wirelessrepeater based on the control information.

The repeater configuration manager 615 may receive or provide means forreceiving, from the wireless repeater in a second channel, an indicationof a monitoring state of a digital interface of the wireless repeater,where the monitoring state of the digital interface is based on apowering of the digital interface, a monitoring periodicity of thedigital interface, or both. In some examples, the repeater configurationmanager 615 may transmit or provide means for transmitting, to thewireless repeater, configuration information indicative of one or moreconfigured slots, one or more beamforming parameters, an uplink ordownlink direction, a threshold, or some combination thereof, forwireless repeater measurement of an energy level in the first channel.In some cases, the configuration information indicative of the thresholdincludes an absolute value of the energy level or a relative value ofthe energy level compared to energy detected in resources other than theone or more configured slots.

The control manager 620 may transmit or provide means for transmitting,to the wireless repeater in the second channel, control informationbased on the indication of the monitoring state of the digital interfaceof the wireless repeater. In some cases, the control informationincludes one or more commands for the digital interface of the wirelessrepeater. In some cases, the one or more commands are indicative ofpowering on the digital interface of the wireless repeater, powering offthe digital interface of the wireless repeater, a monitoring periodicityof the digital interface of the wireless repeater, one or more resourcesto be monitored by the digital interface of the wireless repeater, orsome combination thereof. In some cases, the control informationindicates a receive beam direction for a radio frequency analog signal,a receive time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit beam direction for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, or somecombination thereof. In some cases, the first channel includes amillimeter wave channel and the second channel includes a sub-6gigahertz channel.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of a system 700 including a device 705 thatsupports modem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance withone or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be anexample of or include the components of device 405, device 505, a basestation 105, or a network device 105 as described herein. The device 705may include components for bi-directional voice and data communicationsincluding components for transmitting and receiving communications,including a communications manager 710, a network communications manager715, a transceiver 720, an antenna 725, memory 730, a processor 740, andan inter-station communications manager 745. These components may be inelectronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 750).

The communications manager 710 may receive or provide means forreceiving, from a wireless repeater in a first channel, an indication ofa radio frequency analog signal, receive, from the wireless repeater ina second channel, an indication of a monitoring state of a digitalinterface of the wireless repeater, where the monitoring state of thedigital interface is based on a powering of the digital interface, amonitoring periodicity of the digital interface, or both, and transmit,to the wireless repeater in the second channel, control informationbased on the indication of the monitoring state of the digital interfaceof the wireless repeater, where the control information is associatedwith a radio frequency analog signal in a first channel.

The network communications manager 715 may manage communications withthe core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). Forexample, the network communications manager 715 may manage the transferof data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

The transceiver 720 may communicate or provide means for communicatingbi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links asdescribed above. For example, the transceiver 720 may represent awireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with anotherwireless transceiver. The transceiver 720 may also include a modem tomodulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennasfor transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 725.However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 725,which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiplewireless transmissions.

The memory 730 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. Thememory 730 may store computer-readable code or software 735 includinginstructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor740) cause the device to perform various functions described herein. Insome cases, the memory 730 may contain, among other things, a BIOS whichmay control basic hardware or software operation such as the interactionwith peripheral components or devices.

The processor 740 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, anFPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logiccomponent, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof).In some cases, the processor 740 may be configured to operate a memoryarray using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller maybe integrated into processor 740. The processor 740 may be configured toexecute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., thememory 730) to cause the device 705 to perform various functions (e.g.,functions or tasks supporting modem control using mmW energymeasurement).

The inter-station communications manager 745 may manage communicationswith other base station 105, and may include a controller or schedulerfor controlling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with otherbase stations 105. For example, the inter-station communications manager745 may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 for variousinterference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or jointtransmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager745 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wirelesscommunication network technology to provide communication between basestations 105.

The software 735 may include instructions to implement aspects of thepresent disclosure, including instructions to support wirelesscommunications. The software 735 may be stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory.In some cases, the software 735 may not be directly executable by theprocessor 740 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled andexecuted) to perform functions described herein.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a device 805 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The device 805 may be an example ofaspects of a repeater 140, a repeater 205, or a wireless repeater asdescribed herein. The device 805 may include a receiver 810, acommunications manager 815, and a transmitter 820. The device 805 mayalso include a processor. Each of these components may be incommunication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 810 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement, etc.). Information may be passedon to other components of the device 805. The receiver 810 may be anexample of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference toFIG. 11. The receiver 810 may utilize a single antenna or a set ofantennas.

The receiver 810 may be an example of means for performing variousaspects of managing and power saving of smart repeaters as describedherein. The receiver 810, or its sub-components, may be implemented inhardware (e.g., in receiver or transceiver circuitry). The circuitry maycomprise a processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure.

In some examples or implementations, receiver 810, or itssub-components, may be implemented in code (e.g., as receiver ortransceiver management software or firmware) executed by a processor, orany combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor,the functions of the receiver 810, or its sub-components may be executedby a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, or otherprogrammable logic device.

The communications manager 815 may measure an energy level in a firstchannel during one or more configured slots, determine the measuredenergy level is greater than a threshold, power on a digital interfacebased on the determination that the measured energy level is greaterthan the threshold, and monitor a second channel, using the digitalinterface, for control information. The communications manager 815 maybe an example of aspects of the communications manager 1110 describedherein.

The communications manager 815, or its sub-components, may beimplemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by aprocessor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executedby a processor, the functions of the communications manager 815, or itssub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, anASIC, a FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described in the presentdisclosure.

The communications manager 815 may be an example of means for performingvarious aspects of managing and power saving of smart repeaters asdescribed herein. The communications manager 815, or its sub-components,may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications managementcircuitry). The circuitry may comprise a processor, a DSP, an ASIC, aFPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

In some examples or implementations, communications manager 815, or itssub-components, may be implemented in code (e.g., as communicationsmanagement software or firmware) executed by a processor, or anycombination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, thefunctions of the communications manager 815, or its sub-components maybe executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, orother programmable logic device.

The communications manager 815, or its sub-components, may be physicallylocated at various positions, including being distributed such thatportions of functions are implemented at different physical locations byone or more physical components. In some examples, the communicationsmanager 815, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinctcomponent in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.In some examples, the communications manager 815, or its sub-components,may be combined with one or more other hardware components, includingbut not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, anetwork server, another computing device, one or more other componentsdescribed in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the communications manager 815 may be configured toperform various operations (e.g., receiving, measuring, monitoring,determining, powering on or off, setting, transitioning, amplifying,forwarding, processing, performing, configuring, and transmitting) usingor otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 810, transmitter 820, orboth.

The transmitter 820 may transmit signals generated by other componentsof the device 805. In some examples, the transmitter 820 may becollocated with a receiver 810 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 820 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120described with reference to FIG. 11. The transmitter 820 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

The transmitter 820 may be an example of means for performing variousaspects of managing and power saving of smart repeaters as describedherein. The transmitter 820, or its sub-components, may be implementedin hardware (e.g., in transmitter or transceiver circuitry). Thecircuitry may comprise a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure.

In some examples or implementations, transmitter 820, or itssub-components, may be implemented in code (e.g., as transmitter ortransceiver management software or firmware) executed by a processor, orany combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor,the functions of the transmitter 820, or its sub-components may beexecuted by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA, orother programmable logic device.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a device 905 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example ofaspects of a device 805, a repeater 140, a repeater 205, or a wirelessrepeater as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910,a communications manager 915, and a transmitter 935. The device 905 mayalso include a processor. Each of these components may be incommunication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 910 may receive or provide means for receiving informationsuch as packets, user data, or control information associated withvarious information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, andinformation related to modem control using mmW energy measurement,etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device905. The receiver 910 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1120 described with reference to FIG. 11. The receiver 910 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

The communications manager 915 may be an example of aspects of thecommunications manager 815 as described herein. The communicationsmanager 915 may include an energy measurement manager 920, a digitalinterface manager 925, and a control manager 930. The communicationsmanager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communications manager1110 described herein.

The energy measurement manager 920 may measure or provide means formeasuring an energy level in a first channel during one or moreconfigured slots and determine the measured energy level is greater thana threshold. The digital interface manager 925 may power or providemeans for powering on a digital interface based on the determinationthat the measured energy level is greater than the threshold. Thecontrol manager 930 may monitor or provide means for monitoring a secondchannel, using the digital interface, for control information.

The transmitter 935 may transmit or provide means for transmittingsignals generated by other components of the device 905. In someexamples, the transmitter 935 may be collocated with a receiver 910 in atransceiver module. For example, the transmitter 935 may be an exampleof aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to FIG. 11.The transmitter 935 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a communications manager 1005 thatsupports modem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance withone or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communicationsmanager 1005 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager815, a communications manager 915, or a communications manager 1110described herein. The communications manager 1005 may include an energymeasurement manager 1010, a digital interface manager 1015, a controlmanager 1020, a monitoring configuration manager 1025, and anamplification and forwarding manager 1030. Each of these modules maycommunicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one ormore buses).

The energy measurement manager 1010 may measure or provide means formeasuring an energy level in a first channel during one or moreconfigured slots. In some examples, the energy measurement manager 1010may determine or provide means for determining the measured energy levelis greater than a threshold. In some examples, the energy measurementmanager 1010 may measure or provide means for measuring the energy levelin a millimeter wave channel, using an analog interface, during one ormore random access channel slots. In some cases, the wireless device isconfigured to measure the energy level in a first bandwidth of the firstchannel and monitor the control information in a second bandwidth of thesecond channel. In some cases, the second bandwidth is less than thefirst bandwidth.

The digital interface manager 1015 may power on or provide means forpowering on a digital interface based on the determination that themeasured energy level is greater than the threshold. In some examples,the digital interface manager 1015 may monitor or provide means formonitoring a sub-6 gigahertz channel, using the digital interface, forcontrol information from a base station. In some examples, the digitalinterface manager 1015 may set or provide means for setting a digitalinterface timer based on the determination that the measured energylevel is greater than the threshold. In some examples, the digitalinterface manager 1015 may power off or provide means for powering offthe digital interface based on expiration of the digital interfacetimer. In some examples, the digital interface manager 1015 mayconfigure or provide means for configuring the digital interface basedon the one or more commands. In some examples, the digital interfacemanager 1015 may power on or provide means for powering on the digitalinterface, powering off the digital interface, configuring a monitoringperiodicity of the digital interface, configuring one or more resourcesto be monitored by the digital interface, or some combination thereof,based on the one or more commands.

In some examples, the digital interface manager 1015 may monitor orprovide means for monitoring the second channel, using the digitalinterface, for control information according to a first monitoringperiodicity. In some examples, the digital interface manager 1015 mayreceive or provide means for receiving out of band control informationbased on the monitoring of the second channel. In some cases, the out ofband control information indicates a receive beam direction for a radiofrequency analog signal, a receive time interval for the radio frequencyanalog signal, a transmit beam direction for the radio frequency analogsignal, a transmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal,or some combination thereof.

The control manager 1020 may monitor or provide means for monitoring asecond channel, using the digital interface, for control information. Insome examples, receiving, from a base station, control information priorto expiration of the digital interface timer based on the monitoring ofthe second channel, where the control information includes one or morecommands for the digital interface. In some examples, receiving, from abase station, control information based on the monitoring of the secondchannel, where the control information includes one or more commands forthe digital interface. In some cases, the wireless device includes awireless repeater.

The monitoring configuration manager 1025 may receive or provide meansfor receiving, from a base station, configuration information indicativeof the one or more configured slots, one or more beamforming parameters,an uplink or downlink direction to be used for the measuring of theenergy level, the threshold, or some combination thereof. In someexamples, the monitoring configuration manager 1025 may transmit orprovide means for transmitting, using the digital interface, anindication of a monitoring state of the digital interface to a basestation, where the monitoring state of the digital interface is based onthe powering of the digital interface. In some examples, the monitoringconfiguration manager 1025 may transition or provide means fortransitioning from monitoring the second channel according to the firstmonitoring periodicity to monitoring the second channel according to asecond monitoring periodicity based on the determination that themeasured energy level in the first channel is greater than thethreshold, where the second monitoring periodicity is associated with ashorter monitoring interval than the first monitoring periodicity. Insome cases, the configuration information indicative of the thresholdincludes an absolute value of the energy level or a relative value ofthe energy level compared to energy detected in resources other than theone or more configured slots.

The amplification and forwarding manager 1030 may perform or providemeans for performing an amplification and forward operation in the firstchannel for a radio frequency analog signal based on the out of bandcontrol information.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 thatsupports modem control using mmW energy measurement in accordance withone or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be anexample of or include the components of device 805, device 905, repeater140, a repeater 205, or a wireless repeater as described herein. Thedevice 1105 may include components for bi-directional voice and datacommunications including components for transmitting and receivingcommunications, including a communications manager 1110, an I/Ocontroller 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, memory 1130, and aprocessor 1140. These components may be in electronic communication viaone or more buses (e.g., bus 1145).

The communications manager 1110 may measure or provide means formeasuring an energy level in a first channel during one or moreconfigured slots, determine the measured energy level is greater than athreshold, power on a digital interface based on the determination thatthe measured energy level is greater than the threshold, and monitor asecond channel, using the digital interface, for control information.

The I/O controller 1115 may manage input and output signals for thedevice 1105. The I/O controller 1115 may also manage peripherals notintegrated into the device 1105. In some cases, the I/O controller 1115may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral.In some cases, the I/O controller 1115 may utilize an operating systemsuch as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, oranother known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller 1115may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, atouchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 1115may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user mayinteract with the device 1105 via the I/O controller 1115 or viahardware components controlled by the I/O controller 1115.

The transceiver 1120 may communicate or provide means for communicatingbi-directionally, via one or more antennas, wired, or wireless links asdescribed above. For example, the transceiver 1120 may represent awireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with anotherwireless transceiver. The transceiver 1120 may also include a modem tomodulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antennasfor transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1125.However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 1125,which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiplewireless transmissions.

The memory 1130 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1130 may storecomputer-readable, computer-executable code or software 1135 includinginstructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform variousfunctions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1130 may contain,among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or softwareoperation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The processor 1140 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, anFPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logiccomponent, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof).In some cases, the processor 1140 may be configured to operate a memoryarray using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller maybe integrated into the processor 1140. The processor 1140 may beconfigured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory(e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform variousfunctions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting modem control using mmWenergy measurement).

The software 1135 may include instructions to implement aspects of thepresent disclosure, including instructions to support wirelesscommunications. The software 1135 may be stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory.In some cases, the software 1135 may not be directly executable by theprocessor 1140 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled andexecuted) to perform functions described herein.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1200 may beimplemented by a device (such as, for example, a wireless repeater) orits components as described herein. For example, the operations ofmethod 1200 may be performed by a communications manager as describedwith reference to FIGS. 8 through 11. In some examples, a device mayexecute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of thedevice to perform the functions described below. Additionally oralternatively, a device may perform aspects of the functions describedbelow using special-purpose hardware.

At 1205, the device may measure an energy level in a first channelduring one or more configured slots. The operations of 1205 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed by an energymeasurement manager as described with reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1210, the device may determine that the measured energy levelsatisfies a threshold. In some cases, the device may receive, from thebase station, signaling that indicates the threshold. The operations of1210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by anenergy measurement manager as described with reference to FIGS. 8through 11.

At 1215, the device may power on a digital interface based ondetermining that the measured energy level satisfies the threshold. Theoperations of 1215 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1215 may beperformed by a digital interface manager as described with reference toFIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1220, the device may monitor a second channel, using the digitalinterface, for control information. The operations of 1220 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1220 may be performed by a control manageras described with reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1300 may beimplemented by a device (such as, for example, a wireless repeater) orits components as described herein. For example, the operations ofmethod 1300 may be performed by a communications manager as describedwith reference to FIGS. 8 through 11. In some examples, a device mayexecute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of thedevice to perform the functions described below. Additionally oralternatively, a device may perform aspects of the functions describedbelow using special-purpose hardware.

At 1305, the device may measure the energy level in a millimeter wavechannel, using an analog interface, during one or more random accesschannel slots. The operations of 1305 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1305 may be performed by an energy measurement manager as described withreference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1310, the device may determine that the measured energy levelsatisfies a threshold. The operations of 1310 may be performed accordingto the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of theoperations of 1310 may be performed by an energy measurement manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1315, the device may power on a digital interface based ondetermining that the measured energy level satisfies the threshold. Theoperations of 1315 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may beperformed by a digital interface manager as described with reference toFIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1320, the device may monitor a sub-6 gigahertz channel, using thedigital interface, for control information from a base station. Theoperations of 1320 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1320 may beperformed by a digital interface manager as described with reference toFIGS. 8 through 11.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1400 may beimplemented by a device (such as, for example, a wireless repeater) orits components as described herein. For example, the operations ofmethod 1400 may be performed by a communications manager as describedwith reference to FIGS. 8 through 11. In some examples, a device mayexecute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of thedevice to perform the functions described below. Additionally oralternatively, a device may perform aspects of the functions describedbelow using special-purpose hardware.

At 1405, the device may measure an energy level in a first channelduring one or more configured slots. The operations of 1405 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by an energymeasurement manager as described with reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1410, the device may determine the measured energy level is greaterthan a threshold. The operations of 1410 may be performed according tothe methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of theoperations of 1410 may be performed by an energy measurement manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1415, the device may power on a digital interface based on thedetermination that the measured energy level is greater than thethreshold. The operations of 1415 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1415 may be performed by a digital interface manager as described withreference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1420, the device may monitor a second channel, using the digitalinterface, for control information. The operations of 1420 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1420 may be performed by a control manageras described with reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1425, the device may receive, from a base station, controlinformation based on the monitoring of the second channel, where thecontrol information includes one or more commands for the digitalinterface. The operations of 1425 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1425 may be performed by a control manager as described with referenceto FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1430, the device may configure the digital interface based on the oneor more commands. The operations of 1430 may be performed according tothe methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of theoperations of 1430 may be performed by a digital interface manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1500 may beimplemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein.For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by acommunications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 4 through 7.In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions tocontrol the functional elements of the base station to perform thefunctions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a base stationmay perform aspects of the functions described below usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At 1505, the base station may receive, from a wireless repeater in asecond channel, an indication of a monitoring state of a digitalinterface of the wireless repeater, where the monitoring state of thedigital interface is based on a powering of the digital interface, amonitoring periodicity of the digital interface, or both. The operationsof 1505 may be performed according to the methods described herein. Insome examples, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed by arepeater configuration manager as described with reference to FIGS. 4through 7.

At 1510, the base station may transmit, to the wireless repeater in thesecond channel, control information based on the indication of themonitoring state of the digital interface of the wireless repeater,where the control information is associated with a radio frequencyanalog signal in a first channel. The operations of 1510 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by a control manageras described with reference to FIGS. 4 through 7.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 that supports modemcontrol using mmW energy measurement in accordance with one or moreaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1600 may beimplemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein.For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by acommunications manager as described with reference to FIGS. 4 through 7.In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions tocontrol the functional elements of the base station to perform thefunctions described below. Additionally or alternatively, a base stationmay perform aspects of the functions described below usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At 1605, the base station may transmit, to the wireless repeater,configuration information indicative of one or more configured slots,one or more beamforming parameters, an uplink or downlink direction, athreshold, or some combination thereof, for wireless repeatermeasurement of an energy level in the first channel. The operations of1605 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1605 may be performed by arepeater configuration manager as described with reference to FIGS. 4through 7.

At 1610, the base station may receive, from a wireless repeater in afirst channel, an indication of a radio frequency analog signal. Theoperations of 1610 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may beperformed by a repeater signaling manager as described with reference toFIGS. 4 through 7.

At 1615, the base station may receive, from the wireless repeater in asecond channel, an indication of a monitoring state of a digitalinterface of the wireless repeater. The monitoring state of the digitalinterface may be based on a powering of the digital interface, amonitoring periodicity of the digital interface, or both. The operationsof 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. Insome examples, aspects of the operations of 1615 may be performed by arepeater configuration manager as described with reference to FIGS. 4through 7.

At 1620, the base station may transmit, to the wireless repeater in thesecond channel, control information based on the indication of themonitoring state of the digital interface of the wireless repeater. Thecontrol information may indicate a receive beam direction for a radiofrequency analog signal, a receive time interval for the radio frequencyanalog signal, a transmit beam direction for the radio frequency analogsignal, a transmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal,or some combination thereof. The operations of 1620 may be performedaccording to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects ofthe operations of 1620 may be performed by a control manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 4 through 7.

At 1625, the base station may receive an amplified and forwarded radiofrequency analog signal from the wireless repeater based on the controlinformation. The operations of 1625 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1625 may be performed by a repeater signaling manager as described withreference to FIGS. 4 through 7.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possibleimplementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearrangedor otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

The following provides an overview of examples of the presentdisclosure:

Example 1: A method for wireless communication at a wireless device,comprising: measuring an energy level in a first channel during one ormore configured slots; determining that the measured energy levelsatisfies a threshold; powering on a digital interface based at least inpart on the determining that the measured energy level satisfies thethreshold; and monitoring a second channel, using the digital interface,for control information.

Example 2: The method of example 1, the measuring comprising: measuringthe energy level in a millimeter wave channel, using an analoginterface, during one or more random access channel slots.

Example 3: The method of example 1 or 2, the monitoring comprising:monitoring a sub-6 gigahertz channel, using the digital interface, forcontrol information from a base station.

Example 4: The method of any one of examples 1 through 3, furthercomprising: receiving, from a base station, signaling that indicates thethreshold.

Example 5: The method of any one of examples 1 through 4, furthercomprising: receiving, from a base station, configuration informationindicative of the one or more configured slots, one or more beamformingparameters, an uplink or downlink direction to be used for the measuringof the energy level, the threshold, or some combination thereof.

Example 6: The method of any one of examples 1 through 5, wherein theconfiguration information indicative of the threshold comprises anabsolute value of the energy level or a relative value of the energylevel compared to energy detected in resources other than the one ormore configured slots.

Example 7: The method of any one of examples 1 through 6, furthercomprising: setting a digital interface timer based at least in part onthe determining that the measured energy level satisfies the threshold.

Example 8: The method of any one of examples 1 through 7, furthercomprising: powering off the digital interface based at least in part onexpiration of the digital interface timer.

Example 9: The method of any one of examples 1 through 8, furthercomprising: receiving, from a base station, control information prior toexpiration of the digital interface timer based at least in part on themonitoring of the second channel, wherein the control informationcomprises one or more commands for the digital interface; andconfiguring the digital interface based at least in part on the one ormore commands.

Example 10: The method of any one of examples 1 through 9, theconfiguring comprising: powering on the digital interface, powering offthe digital interface, configuring a monitoring periodicity of thedigital interface, configuring one or more resources to be monitored bythe digital interface, or some combination thereof, based at least inpart on the one or more commands.

Example 11: The method of any one of examples 1 through 10, furthercomprising: transmitting, using the digital interface, an indication ofa monitoring state of the digital interface to a base station, whereinthe monitoring state of the digital interface is based at least in parton the powering of the digital interface.

Example 12: The method of any one of examples 1 through 11, furthercomprising: receiving, from a base station, control information based atleast in part on the monitoring of the second channel, wherein thecontrol information comprises one or more commands for the digitalinterface; and configuring the digital interface based at least in parton the one or more commands.

Example 13: The method of any one of examples 1 through 12, theconfiguring comprising: powering on the digital interface, powering offthe digital interface, configuring a monitoring periodicity of thedigital interface, configuring one or more resources to be monitored bythe digital interface, or some combination thereof, based at least inpart on the one or more commands.

Example 14: The method of any one of examples 1 through 13, furthercomprising: monitoring the second channel, using the digital interface,for control information according to a first monitoring periodicity; andtransitioning from monitoring the second channel according to the firstmonitoring periodicity to monitoring the second channel according to asecond monitoring periodicity based at least in part on the determiningthat the measured energy level satisfies the threshold, wherein thesecond monitoring periodicity is associated with a shorter monitoringinterval than the first monitoring periodicity.

Example 15: The method of any one of examples 1 through 14, wherein thewireless device comprises a wireless repeater.

Example 16: The method of any one of examples 1 through 15, wherein thewireless device is configured to measure the energy level in a firstbandwidth of the first channel and monitor the control information in asecond bandwidth of the second channel.

Example 17: The method of any one of examples 1 through 16, wherein thesecond bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth.

Example 18: The method of any one of examples 1 through 17, furthercomprising: receiving out of band control information based at least inpart on the monitoring of the second channel; and performing anamplification and forward operation in the first channel for a radiofrequency analog signal based at least in part on the out of bandcontrol information.

Example 19: The method of any one of examples 1 through 18, wherein theout of band control information indicates a receive beam direction forthe radio frequency analog signal, a receive time interval for the radiofrequency analog signal, a transmit beam direction for the radiofrequency analog signal, a transmit time interval for the radiofrequency analog signal, or some combination thereof.

Example 20: A method of wireless communication at a base station,comprising: receiving, from a wireless device in a second channel, anindication of a monitoring state of a digital interface of the wirelessdevice, wherein the monitoring state of the digital interface is basedat least in part on a powering of the digital interface, a monitoringperiodicity of the digital interface, or both; and transmitting, to thewireless device in the second channel, control information based atleast in part on the indication of the monitoring state of the digitalinterface of the wireless device, wherein the control information isassociated with a radio frequency analog signal in a first channel.

Example 21: The method of example 20 further comprising: transmitting,to the wireless device, configuration information indicative of one ormore configured slots, one or more beamforming parameters, an uplink ordownlink direction, a threshold, or some combination thereof, forwireless repeater measurement of an energy level in the first channel.

Example 22: The method of example 20 or 21, wherein the configurationinformation indicative of the threshold comprises an absolute value ofthe energy level or a relative value of the energy level compared toenergy detected in resources other than the one or more configuredslots.

Example 23: The method of any one of examples 20 through 22, wherein thefirst channel comprises a millimeter wave channel and the second channelcomprises a sub-6 gigahertz channel.

Example 24: The method of any one of examples 20 through 23, wherein thecontrol information comprises one or more commands for the digitalinterface of the wireless device.

Example 25: The method of any one of examples 20 through 24, wherein theone or more commands are indicative of powering on the digital interfaceof the wireless device, powering off the digital interface of thewireless device, a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface ofthe wireless device, one or more resources to be monitored by thedigital interface of the wireless device, or some combination thereof.

Example 26: The method of any one of examples 20 through 25, wherein thecontrol information indicates a receive beam direction for a radiofrequency analog signal, a receive time interval for the radio frequencyanalog signal, a transmit beam direction for the radio frequency analogsignal, a transmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal,or some combination thereof.

Example 27: The method of any one of examples 20 through 26, furthercomprising: receiving an amplified and forwarded radio frequency analogsignal from the wireless repeater based at least in part on the controlinformation.

Example 28: The method of any one of examples 20 through 27, wherein thewireless device comprises a wireless repeater.

Example 29: An apparatus for wireless communications comprising aprocessor and memory coupled to the processor, the processor and memoryconfigured to perform a method of any one of examples 1 through 19.

Example 30: An apparatus for wireless communications comprising aprocessor and memory coupled to the processor, the processor and memoryconfigured to perform a method of any one of examples 20 through 28.

Example 31: An apparatus for wireless communication comprising at leastone means for performing a method of any one of examples 1 through 19.

Example 32: An apparatus for wireless communication comprising at leastone means for performing a method of any one of examples 20 through 28.

Example 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code forwireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by aprocessor to perform a method of any one of examples 1 through 19.

Example 34: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code forwireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by aprocessor to perform a method of any one of examples 20 through 28.

Techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunications systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, single carrierfrequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. A CDMAsystem may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95,and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases may be commonly referred to asCDMA2000 1×, 1×, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to asCDMA2000 1×EV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includesWideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system mayimplement a radio technology such as Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM).

An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A Pro are releasesof UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR,and GSM are described in documents from the organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are describedin documents from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2” (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for thesystems and radio technologies mentioned herein as well as other systemsand radio technologies. While aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NRsystem may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, thetechniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro,or NR applications.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g.,several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEswith service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell maybe associated with a lower-powered base station, as compared with amacro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g.,licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cellsmay include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according tovarious examples. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptionswith the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a smallgeographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by UEshaving an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closedsubscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like). An eNBfor a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a smallcell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, ora home eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four,and the like) cells, and may also support communications using one ormultiple component carriers.

The wireless communications systems described herein may supportsynchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, thebase stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions fromdifferent base stations may be approximately aligned in time. Forasynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frametiming, and transmissions from different base stations may not bealigned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for eithersynchronous or asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices(e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiplemicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described herein can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storagemedia and communication media including any medium that facilitatestransfer of a computer program from one place to another. Anon-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media mayinclude random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROMor other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used tocarry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions ordata structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also includedwithin the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items(e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or“one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, alist of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BCor ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “basedon” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions.For example, an exemplary step that is described as “based on conditionA” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, asused herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manneras the phrase “based at least in part on.”

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label, or othersubsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appendeddrawings, describes example configurations and does not represent allthe examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous overother examples.” The detailed description includes specific details forthe purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques.These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of thedescribed examples.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the artto make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosurewill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other variations withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is notlimited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to beaccorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

1. (canceled)
 2. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and memorycoupled with the processor, the processor configured to: measure anenergy level, using an analog interface, in a first channel during oneor more configured slots; power on a digital interface based at least inpart on the measured energy level satisfying a threshold; and monitor asecond channel, using the digital interface, for control information. 3.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor configured to measure anenergy level is further configured to: measure the energy level in amillimeter wave channel during one or more random access channel slots.4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configuredto: receive, from a network entity, signaling that indicates thethreshold.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: receive, from a network entity, configuration informationindicative of the one or more configured slots, one or more beamformingparameters, an uplink or downlink direction associated with the energylevel, the threshold, or any combination thereof.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the configuration information indicative of thethreshold comprises an absolute value of the energy level or a relativevalue of the energy level compared to energy detected in resources otherthan the one or more configured slots.
 7. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the processor is further configured to: set a digital interfacetimer based at least in part on the measured energy level satisfies thethreshold.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: power off the digital interface based at least in part onexpiration of the digital interface timer.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, from a networkentity, the control information via the second channel prior toexpiration of the digital interface timer, wherein the controlinformation comprises one or more commands for the digital interface;and configure the digital interface based at least in part on the one ormore commands.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processorconfigured to configure the digital interface is further configured to:power on the digital interface, power off the digital interface,configure a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface, configureone or more resources to be monitored by the digital interface, or anycombination thereof, based at least in part on the one or more commands.11. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: a transceiver coupledwith the processor, wherein the processor is further configured to:transmit, using the digital interface, an indication of a monitoringstate of the digital interface, wherein the monitoring state of thedigital interface is based at least in part on whether the digitalinterface is powered on.
 12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: receive, from a network entity, thecontrol information via the second channel, wherein the controlinformation comprises one or more commands for the digital interface;and configure the digital interface based at least in part on the one ormore commands.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processorconfigured to configure the digital interface is further configured to:power on the digital interface, power off the digital interface,configure a monitoring periodicity of the digital interface, configureone or more resources to be monitored by the digital interface, or anycombination thereof, based at least in part on the one or more commands.14. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: receive out of band control information via the secondchannel; and perform an amplification and forward operation in the firstchannel for a radio frequency analog signal based at least in part onthe out of band control information.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14,wherein the out of band control information indicates a receive beamdirection for the radio frequency analog signal, a receive time intervalfor the radio frequency analog signal, a transmit beam direction for theradio frequency analog signal, a transmit time interval for the radiofrequency analog signal, or any combination thereof.
 16. The apparatusof claim 2, wherein the apparatus comprises a wireless repeater.
 17. Anapparatus comprising: a processor; and memory coupled with theprocessor, the processor configured to: receive, from a wireless devicein a second channel operating in a radio frequency band different from afirst channel, an indication of a monitoring state of a digitalinterface of the wireless device; and send, to the wireless device inthe second channel, control information based at least in part on theindication of the monitoring state of the digital interface of thewireless device, wherein the control information indicates a receivebeam direction for a radio frequency analog signal in the first channel,a receive time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit beam direction for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, or anycombination thereof.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein themonitoring state of the digital interface of the wireless device isbased at least in part on whether the digital interface of the wirelessdevice is powered on.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein themonitoring state of the digital interface of the wireless device isbased at least in part on a monitoring periodicity of the digitalinterface of the wireless device.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17, whereinthe processor is further configured to: send, to the wireless device,configuration information indicative of one or more configured slots,one or more beamforming parameters, an uplink or downlink direction, athreshold, or any combination thereof, for wireless repeater measurementof an energy level in the first channel.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20,wherein the configuration information indicative of the thresholdcomprises an absolute value of the energy level or a relative value ofthe energy level compared to energy detected in resources other than theone or more configured slots.
 22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein thefirst channel comprises a millimeter wave channel and the second channelcomprises a sub-6 gigahertz channel.
 23. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the control information comprises one or more commands for thedigital interface of the wireless device.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23,wherein the one or more commands are indicative of whether the digitalinterface of the wireless device is powered on, whether the digitalinterface of the wireless device is powered off, a monitoringperiodicity of the digital interface of the wireless device, one or moreresources to be monitored by the digital interface of the wirelessdevice, or any combination thereof.
 25. The apparatus of claim 17,further comprising: a transceiver coupled with the processor, whereinthe processor is further configured to: receive an amplified andforwarded radio frequency analog signal of the radio frequency analogsignal from the wireless device based at least in part on the controlinformation.
 26. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatuscomprises a network entity.
 27. A method for wireless communication at awireless device, comprising: measuring an energy level, using an analoginterface, in a first channel during one or more configured slots;powering on a digital interface based at least in part on the measuredenergy level satisfying a threshold; and monitoring a second channel,using the digital interface, for control information.
 28. The method ofclaim 27, further comprising: measuring the energy level in a millimeterwave channel during one or more random access channel slots.
 29. Themethod of claim 27, further comprising: receiving, from a networkentity, signaling that indicates the threshold.
 30. A method of wirelesscommunication at a network entity, comprising: receiving, from awireless device in a second channel operating in a radio frequency banddifferent from a first channel, an indication of a monitoring state of adigital interface of the wireless device; and sending, to the wirelessdevice in the second channel, control information based at least in parton the indication of the monitoring state of the digital interface ofthe wireless device, wherein the control information indicates a receivebeam direction for a radio frequency analog signal in the first channel,a receive time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit beam direction for the radio frequency analog signal, atransmit time interval for the radio frequency analog signal, or anycombination thereof.
 31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:sending, to the wireless device, configuration information indicative ofone or more configured slots, one or more beamforming parameters, anuplink or downlink direction, a threshold, or any combination thereof,for wireless repeater measurement of an energy level in the firstchannel.